


Mystery of Aincrad

by BlossomBlue



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Minor Violence, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28839975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlossomBlue/pseuds/BlossomBlue
Summary: Convenience store worker Asuna gets a mysterious letter delivered to her by the wind, stating that someone knows her both in the virtual world and the real one. With regular customer and new found friend Kazuto, she juggles her feelings for him as they uncover the mystery surrounding her stalker and her guild.
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Note

**Author's Note:**

> hey all! been a while since i've done a slow burn, and i recently watched some sao and kirisuna gave me the feels ;~; so heres a new slow burner fic for you all, please enjoy! hoping to update this every other day, enjoy chap. 1!

The store entrance bell chimed it’s familiar ‘ _ding dong’_ as the doors opened, announcing her arrival. A quick glance around the small yet handy convenience store showed it was quiet, only a few customers browsing for snacks. The air smelt clean from the air conditioning just above the sliding entrance doors, and the cold blast of air made her shiver despite it being so warm outside.

It was an uncomfortably warm summer night in the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. The streets of people were beginning to disappear as the evening slowed down from the busy bustling everyday life, people going about their days. The air was filled with warm breezes, the smell of plants and nature even throughout these outskirts, though the city fragrances still lingered in the air, spreading throughout the minor towns, always reaching her. Asuna worked the night shift at some chain convenience store near where she lived. Each walk to work on the nights she had to go in was calming. She always left a little earlier so she could take her time walking there, listening to music and occasionally stopping by the nearby river, standing on the bridge and feeding the koi beneath. It would always be a nice relaxing break from the virtual world she was so heavily invested in. 

From a young age, Asuna had always been interested in virtual reality, MMO RGPs, and gaming in general. Though her parents had distaste for her hobbies, they never wanted their daughter to feel left out, or that she couldn’t have whatever her heart desired. They were in a position to afford these things for her; so why not, as long as she continued hard on her studies. There was something about the virtual world that always intrigued Asuna. VR always felt like real life to her, yet the fantasy, magic and mystical beings always reminded her it was still a game, even if sometimes the line between virtual reality and real reality became blurred. Her favourite thing about gaming was the connections she made. It always fascinated her that she was able to make friends with anyone in the world, they could be anywhere, living a different reality to her. Though VR was just pixels and sensations caused by the head gear, the connections she made to people were real. 

One of those people was her work friend, Klein. Once she had started there, taking over the night shift from his day shift, they got along easily. Klein was easy going and fun to be around, and when finding out Asuna played VR MMO he freaked, instantly asking to play together. In the game, they were valued and respected Knights of their guild, fighting to defend the peace and keep the VR world safe from harm. In real life, they were shop assistants, disliking every second they spent there. 

Asuna brushed her long ginger hair out of her hoodie and smiled as she saw Klein leaning against the cluttered counter, reading a magazine. He was deep in his reading that he hadn’t even registered her coming up to the counter and coughing for his attention. A simple flick on the forehead would do. 

“Owww hey-” His eyes lit up when he saw her standing there with a cheesy smile and eyes closed. 

“You’re hereeeee!! Finally, I’ve been so bored - I mean, I have a hot lady friend that’s awaiting my arrival-”

Asuna’s face turned to a straight one as she clutched the bag on her shoulder. “Real or virtual?” 

Klein scratched the back of his head. “Hey, c’mon now. T-That’s private…”

Asuna chuckled. “Right then. Well, you’re free to go now. “ She replied, bowing slightly. Her hair got in her face again and she huffed, blowing it away. 

“You didn’t come in your uniform today,” Klein said, untying his green apron. The uniform was relaxed for such an established store chain, just casual clothes with a green apron over the top and a name badge. Asuna often wondered how these stores did so well, as everything in her store seemed to be rather laid back. Though she wondered if it was because she worked the night shift, it was often dead quiet throughout the night. So she would be restocking whilst listening to music. 

Asuna smiled to herself and looked down at her feet, raising herself up and down on her heels. “Well, I took a stop today. By the river?”

Klein nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s a nice place,” His eyes winced almost shut. “Or is the real reason you were hoping to see that black haired guy-” 

“Would you shut up about that already!” Asuna looked up at him with an alarming look. Klein held both hands up in protest, laughing. 

“Okay okay, it’s just I see him in here a lot ya know. Normally he comes in when we change over but he isn’t here yet for some reason. I’ve never seen you get so nervous in front of a customer Asuna-”

“Oh my god okay we’re done here. Leave already!” Asuna pouted, right hand pointing toward the door. 

The entrance bell chimed at the same time Asuna’s last words left her mouth, her eyes too scrunched together and mind too focused on being mad with Klein that it didn’t even register to her that there was a new customer. 

A voice called out behind them. “Uhh, me?” 

Asuna turned sharpley and her eyes widened in disbelief. The black haired boy she had encountered several times before. He was becoming a regular at the store, coming most evenings just a few minutes after Asuna started her shift take over from Klein. She didn’t know much about him, aside from the things he liked to eat (mostly sweet treats and water) and what he looked like. She didn’t know why, but Klein was right. She had become a nervous wreck around him, yet he seemed so calm, like nothing ever phased him in the world. He always gave a small simple smile before leaving the store, and was always politely mannered and dressed well too, sporting t-shirts and hoodies. Asuna thought he looked...good.

Her cheeks began to turn red as she realised what she had done. She bowed and started to shake her head profusely. “I’m...I’m so sorry. Not you at all, please forgive me and come in.” 

The black haired guy laughed. “It’s fine, really!” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Asuna’s face remained bright red as she turned to face Klein, whose cheeks were wide holding in his laughter. Asuna glared at him, her eyes not even blinking and her head twitching. 

“Okay okay jeez I get it, I’m off. Have fun Asuna!” Klein spluttered out quickly as he walked around the counter, waving as the door chimed his exit out. 

Asuna sighed, and took his position at the counter, holding the green apron in her mouth as she delicately tied a neat bow behind her. Her hair was long and getting in the way, so she tied it into a neat ponytail and shook her head once it was done. She clipped her name tag onto the left side of her attire and wondered how she looked, since there were no mirrors nearby. She had dumped her bag with her phone inside under the counter, as there were customers she didn’t have time to fill out her nightly duties of restocking and tidying right now. 

The store was small, only boasting 5 aisles, but each lane was packed with everything you needed; as most were in Japan. An aisle for magazines, one for food and drink, another for toiletries. Luckily the store was never left in that much of a mess, most customers were respectful and polite, even school children according to Klein. The floor was also shiny and white, thanks to the workers during the day, and the walls were almost always immaculate too, apart from posters and notice boards. The lights above were harsh and bright, but it did make it easier to see everything, and was less creepy when for Asuna when the night settled in. 

She worked the night shift by herself, which she didn’t mind. She maybe had five or six customers per night come in, so it wasn’t anything that she couldn’t deal with. Someone would be in at six am to take over from her. Her job was relatively easy, and the money was good since she worked unsocial hours. It was the perfect summer job for her until she moved to college. 

“Kazutoooo!” 

The store bell chimed and a young girl with black hair cut into a neat bob entered rather hastily, her slowing down as she had clearly been running from outside. Asuna smiled and bowed, welcoming her. The other girl only smiled in response, and went round off round the aisles of the store. There weren’t many aisles but they were tall, and people could be well hidden behind them since they were packed full of stock. 

After serving a few customers, things began to slow. Asuna pulled a strand of hair from above her ear and began twirling it round her fingers, laying both her elbows on the slightly cluttered counter, full of stationary pieces and other miscellaneous items. She often found herself taking a pen from the pot and drawing on random bits of paper she found. She wasn’t great at drawing but it passed the time, and she liked drawing herself from the VR world. Sometimes she forgot to bin the drawings, so Klein had begun stacking them behind the counter much to Asuna’s despair. Though, he would leave encouraging little lines and scribbles, such as _‘this is good!’_ or _‘draw me next time!’_

Asuna pulled a pen from the pot and began scribbling away on a post stick note that was in the pile of her drawings. She lazily sketched away, thinking about her next time in the VR world. She had a quest to go on with her guild, though she hadn’t been filled in on what it was going to be yet. Most likely a boss raid, or getting more XP to higher their stats- 

“That’s good. Is that supposed to be you?”

She was snapped from her dawdling thoughts as she looked up, seeing the black haired guy smiling at her with a warm face. Oh, that’s right. She was supposed to be working. She threw the pen to the side and hurriedly shoved the paper in her apron pocket. 

“Uhh, sorry about that. Just these?” She eyed the snacks he had in his hands, not wanting to look him in the eyes yet. 

“Yeah, thanks.” He placed them all on the table, but it was more than usual. Like, twice as much. Two bottles of drinks. 

He interrupted her thoughts once more. “You didn’t answer my question,” His eyes shifted to the side. “And you have a piece of hair sticking out of your head…”

Asuna’s cheeks turned pink as she started scanning the items. “Oh right.” She quickly pulled the piece she was previously playing with and tucked it behind her ear again. “Um, yeah, kinda.”

“I doodle a lot too. Especially when I’m supposed to be working,” She finally let her eyes greet his. They were a soft grey, and could almost be mistaken for being deep blue. Maybe they were, she wasn’t sure, and could no longer tell when his eyes turned away from hers. The black haired bob girl came up behind him and clung to his arm. 

“Kazuto,” She whined, tugging at his arm nonstop. “I’m so hungry and cold. Let’s goooo,”

He ruffled her hair and she giggled at him, flashing a cheesy smile. “I’m on it, okay?” 

The back haired guy that now had a name in her head, Kazuto, handed Asuna the money and she packed up their stuff into a white plastic bag. He took the bag and Asuna bowed once more, thanking him for his visit. He pulled the zipper up on his jacket, and nodded at her back. He turned on his heel and looked back at her, head still bowed down. 

“I’ll be seeing you, then.” 

The bell chimed and the doors closed before she could look back up at him. Her orange eyes glistened in the harsh florescuent, watching the doors close, only seeing the inky night that was beyond the door. Asuna wasn’t really sure what to make of what he said. He’ll be seeing her? Later? Or another day, tomorrow? He had started coming most days about a week ago. He was always nice to her, yet today was the first time he had said something like that, or even attempted to make conversation with her. He liked her dumb scribbles? Or was he just being polite? And his name was Kazuto. It suited him, she thought to herself. 

But who was that girl with him? Maybe...maybe his girlfriend? A guy like him had to have one, surely. They looked to be the same age, so they were probably together. Calling him by his first name, tugging on his arm like that, the way he touched her. Asuna found herself sulking at the thought, but soon mentally slapped herself. She didn’t even know the guy, so why should she care if he had a girlfriend? 

The shop was empty but she snapped out of her gaze when she saw a piece of paper drifting along the white tiled store floor. It had been blown in under the doors most likely, not that it was particularly windy outside. However the air from the conditioner blew it right past the counter, the folded paper flapping and stalking each aisle with confidence. Asuna furrowed her blonde brows, and carefully peered outside to see if she could see a figure, any kind of reminisce of a human that might’ve dropped something. 

She sauntered out from behind the counter, placing one hand behind her on the tabletop. The paper eerily stopped in the aisle before her, still flapping slightly from the air con. Asuna knelt down on the floor, eyeing the paper before cautiously picking it up with one hand. Her fingers touched the cold half folded paper as she picked it up, letting her ponytail fall past her shoulders. Her orange dewy eyes studied it, a lined piece of paper that looked like it had been roughly teared out of a journal. Maybe it fell out of someone's pocket as they were passing by. Maybe it was nosy to pry as to what was in there if anything at all but Asuna, like always, was a curious soul. 

_'im watching you, lightning flash'_

She gasped and dropped the paper. It was for her? Was someone playing a prank? Lightning flash was her nickname in the VR world, given to her by the many players around her for her unique and fast attacks, so fast it was hard to keep up with her. She hadn't lost a duel yet to any player that offered, though it was common knowledge that Lightning flash never started a duel, only finished them. Rumors say someone just as skilled as her, titled only as the Black Swordsman was as good as her. Asuna had yet to meet this player, who everyone said matched her high skill level.

She didn't know many people in the real world who knew her by that name. The only person she could think of was Klein, but this wasn't his hand writing, and he had gone home a while ago. Asuna didn't want to admit it but, she was scared someone might be watching her outside. If this was in VR, she would go and confront whoever was waiting for her outside. Lightning flash wouldn't stand for this dumb prank, she'd grab her sword and face them head on. Though, this unfortunately wasn't VR and she had no sword equipped with her. Nethertheless, she had to confront them. As Asuna. 

She stood up, wobbling a little as she grounded herself. Whoever was out there could just be messing with her, another player or customer she had interacted with earlier. She took her hair down for comfort and let it flow around her shoulders and arms. One step closer to the door, she closed her eyes and balled her fists. The door chimed as it opened, and Asuna jumped outside. 

"WHO'S OUT THERE? C'MON SHOW YOURSELF!" 

The wind whistled in her ears. It blew her hair illuminated by the light from inside the store. She kept her eyes scrunched tight and eyes closed waiting for a response. But there was nothing. Only the sound of a car going past. Asuna gave a confused look, before turning around to check each side of her. There was no one around. 

She sighed, flicking her fingers through her bangs. "Just a stupid prank, as I thought." Asuna muttered, entering the store once again. 


	2. Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange man visits the store, and Asuna makes a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coming at chuu with another chap, enjoy!

The next day, Asuna took the quickest way to work. Her eyes longed for the river that she had visited yesterday, wanting time to just sit down and think about things. But, the fear of being jumped, the fear of someone watching her from the shadows creeped her out much more than she liked to admit. She felt on edge, checking every corner and looming behind her often even if she had convinced herself it was a prank done by Klein. She decided she was going to confront him about it as soon as she got in. 

Asuna came with her hair up already and her green apron on. The bell chimed and Klein stretched his fingers on the counter seeing her arrival. 

"Hard day today phew, thank god you're here little lady." 

Asuna hauled her bag on the table and scoffed. "Very funny yesterday," She sneered, attaching her name badge. 

"Huh?" 

Asuna rolled her eyes and met his own. "You can't fool me Klein, I know it was you." 

Klein looked at her awkwardly, scratching his arms. "What was me again?" 

"You know what! Stop playing dumb. Why did you try and scare me like that?" 

His face turned from awkwardness to confusion. "Uh, Asuna? I'm really not sure what you mean." 

Asuna's eyes widened. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. "It really...wasn't you?" 

"Please Asuna you're killing me here! What's going on?" 

Asuna sighed and pulled the scrunched piece of paper from her bag. She held it out for Klein to take, and after reading it, looked at her for more context. 

"Someone gave this to you?" 

Asuna sighed again, more heavy this time as she crossed her arms on the opposing side of the counter to him. The chime went in the background, so the store was still slightly busy with customers. 

"No one gave it to me it sort of flew...in here and when I went to go outside to see who let it in no one was there." 

Klein gave her a concerned looked before studying the paper. "That's weird. Really weird." 

Asuna let her head bash to the counter. "You're telling me," She muffled. 

Klein handed her back the paper and ruffled her hair. "Look, someone probably got the tip off that you work here and decided to mess with you. Don't worry about it-" 

She lifted her head and stretched her palm out in a hurried gesture. "But Klein I don't talk to anyone in real life you know that! This could be serious-" 

"Hey," He grabbed her cheeks with both of his hands. They were kind of cold but she didn't complain. She hasn't been held like that in a while. "Listen. It's gonna be alright. I promise you this is what they want. Someone is just messing with you, I promise." 

Asuna smiled weakly at him, not really believing him but taking his words in anyway. She nodded and he let go of her face, yet she noticed he was blushing a little. 

"I got something that might cheer ya up a bit," Klein pulled from behind the counter the latest addition of the VR Us! Magazine, showing off the latest in VT technology. 

Asuna's eyes lit up as a big cheesy smile was painted on her face. "No WAY!" She squealed, earning a few looks from some customers. "Did we get these in today! Oh my god you've already read it haven't you?!" 

Klein crossed his arms and gave a proud nod. "Yep. The new additions look-"

"Wow!!" She was already flicking through. "There's already tons of new worlds from the seed!" A gasp. "New updated graphics and new sensations! Klein this is big!!" 

"Hmm, thought that would perk you up a bit. Try not to spend the whole night reading. I'm off," He moved around the counter and stopped in between the sliding doors. 

"Asuna," She flicked her head up toward him from the magazine. "If something happens, call me okay?" 

She gave him a firm nod and he waved goodbye, letting the doors close behind him. After serving a few customers, Asuna was back to reading the latest addition in up to date news and technology from the VR world. It fascinated her how quickly everything was being changed and updated even from just a few months ago. Her head was pointed down, arms crossed on the counter as her hair flowed past her shoulder, spilling next to her arms. Every line she read made her more and more hooked until-

"Asuna?" 

She looked up slowly. A familiar voice said a name it was unsure about, perhaps the first time pronouncing it. It was Kazuto, from yesterday. 

"Kazuto…" She drifted off. "I mean hello!" She shook her head, allowing her hair to get messier. Curse that those two words rhymed. 

He smiled at her, clutching his items. "You know my name?" 

She quickly folded the magazine shut as her cheeks began to flush. "Uhh, I overheard someone call you that yesterday. Sorry, I know it's rude, we don't know each other and all-" 

He held up his hand and closed his eyes. "It's fine, really. I called you by yours, so…" 

A silence grew between them. Asuna held out her hands for his things. 

"Oh right, sorry." He placed his things down and fumbled for his wallet. His eyes sauntered back up to the counter and noticed the magazine she had been reading placed to one side. 

His black eyebrows raised. "You like VR?" He asked, pointing toward the magazine. 

Asuna squeezed her eyes shut. She thought she'd put it further out the way. She sighed and gave a small fake smile, still packing away his things. 

"Yes, I do. I like it a lot. I know it's not very conventional but it's pretty much what I do in my spare time." 

"That's awesome!" 

She looked up, and saw genuine excitement on his face. He wasn't weirded out that she was a girl playing VR, or that the store clerk he had briefly made conversations with was a nerd like he apparently was. 

"What kinds of games do you play?" 

She tapped her chin with her finger. "Well, lots of games really. I really like MMOs and RPGs but I guess the game I've sunk all my time into is Sword Art Online. Have you heard of it?" 

Kauzto's eyes widened. "No way, I love that game!" 

Asuna beamed a smile back at him, dropping her hands onto his bag of food. "Really! It's like, my favourite thing ever probably." 

He chuckled in agreement, and took the bag from the counter after she let go. "Who would've thought the cute girl at the counter played VR MMOs," 

Cute? He thought she was cute? Before she even had time to respond, the bell chimed and a very tall, slightly intimidating guy walked in with his hood up, hands shoved in his pockets. Asuna visibly gulped feeling like a baby, but she never liked dealing with concerning guests like these. 

Kazuto noticed this and turned, making eye contact with the stranger before the man walked off. He looked back at Asuna with a firm look in his eye. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked. 

Asuna was taken aback by his words. Even if this man was to do anything, which was unlikely, Kazuto was barely taller than she was, and a little scrawny at that. He wasn't going to be able to do anything to this guy even if he wanted to. However, that didn't matter right now. She was glad for the extra company, otherwise it would just be her in the shop alone. 

"It's probably nothing but you look a little worried so I'll wait outside, okay?" 

Asuna noded in response, watching Kazuto leave and the bell chime rang in her head. Thanks to the tall shelves, she couldn't keep tabs on the guy, and the security cams were out back so she couldn't even check on the weird dude if he was going to steal. She played with her ponytail nervously awaiting him to come to the counter. 

The chestnut coloured hair flicked through her fingers, she weaved and wrapped for what felt like forever. She was so lost in her head with anxious thoughts, she could barely make out where he was in the store just by his footsteps. Asuna wanted to try and listen but she just kept wanting to squeeze her eyes shut and pretend he wasn’t there. What did she normally do when a customer that frightened her that much came in? She didn’t know, she hadn’t really had to deal with this sort of thing at night time. It was mostly late night workers who were too tired to even make little conversation. So what was this guy doing here looking so shady?

Asuna thought of Kazuto, standing outside waiting. Waiting to see if something happened, then what? Maybe it would be too late by the time he ran back in. Part of her wished he had stayed inside, pretended he was taking her shift or something. She shook her head letting her hair get messy. Why was she so afraid? She was used to trusting her gut and yet, everything about this guy screamed shady. She hated that in the real world, she was reduced to this. A pure walking in need of someone else’s help. Why couldn’t she face him on her own like her alter ego lightning flash? She smirked to herself. Asuna had promised herself to stop calling her that name given to her by the masses in the virtual world. Oftentimes, she had a hard time detaching those two people. She couldn't accept that she wasn’t the legendary lightning flash in real life, and that she held little power here. 

A loud thump on the counter snapped her out of her thoughts. Before her, the new issue of the VR Us! Magazine had been thrown askew at her, staring her in the face. She didn’t have to look up to know who it was, though did so anyway, carefully raising her glance to him. She couldn’t see much of his face even with all the fluorescent lighting, but she could see his mouth, each corner turned up into a small but noticeable smirk. 

Asuna scanned it quickly, and he dumped the change on the counter. She handed it to him, and he made sure his fingers brushed against hers, to which she quickly recoiled. The hazel eyes searched for his, but she still couldn’t find them, only his smirk growing wider. Her face turned to disgust. 

“You know who I am, don’t you?”

She bawled her fists under the counter as he chuckled back. “What makes you say that, doll?” His voice was raspy and older, and it sounded like he smoked. It was deep and every word was thick, covered with intent. It made her back shiver slightly. 

“You wrote me that note yesterday?” Asuna’s brows furrowed as she gave what she could see of his face a stern look. 

“Don’t know what you mean,” He placed the magazine under his arm and turned on his heel, making for the door. “Though I do know you’re cute when you pout. Looks exactly the same when we deep dive.” 

Asuna’s eyes widened. So he did know who she was! “Wait-” She called out for him, but he had already left, the door chiming his departure. She fell to the stool that was against the wall behind the counter and placed a hand on her forehead. She felt shaky and woozy, like she could be sick if she wanted. 

She tried piecing it all together in her mind at once. Someone was after her, that knew her in game and in real life. But how? Who would have access to her personal information like that? Even Klein didn’t know that much about her. She tried to think, what could she have possibly done in game to upset anyone? All she did was run her guild to the best of her ability, and she wasn’t even the lead commanding knight. She took the duels anyone offered her and kept the peace within the realm, serving justice and doing what’s right. 

Maybe he was someone she had dueled with previously, and was mad that he lost. She hoped it was all just some stupid prank, but she couldn’t be sure. Forget sleeping, as soon as she was back home she was going straight to the realm to do some investigating. 

The bell chimed once more as Kazuto poked his head in. “Asuna?” 

She stuck her hand up in the air and waved. “Behind here, sorry. I’m just sitting down I think...I need some water or something,” Her head was spinning trying to figure out what was going on. 

“Here,” 

From beyond the counter, Kazuto was holding out his water he had previously bought, with a warm smile plastered across his face. “Drink some,”

Asuna weakly reached out an arm, feeling like a fool. “A-Are you sure?” She asked, taking it and unscrewing the cap. 

Kazuto shrugged, then folded his arms.. “It’s just water. What did that guy want anyway? Looked kinda shady. Did he buy anything?”

She nodded whilst taking a big swig. It felt refreshing as it poured into her throat, as she hadn’t drank anything since she got to work. She placed the bottle on the counter once more, still holding the cap. He seemed to take genuine interest and concern for her, looking at her for a response. 

“He bought a VR Us! Magazine, the same issue as the one I was reading.” 

His grey eyes searched for the bottle, and he reached out to grab it, taking a swig. Asuna blinked bluntly. He didn’t mind sharing with her? Though he didn’t even know her, it seemed to not even phase him. 

Kazuto swallowed. “Hm. A VR player like us,” 

Asuna sighed, linking her fingers together on the counter, with a pleading look on her face. She didn’t know whether to tell him or not. He was a fellow VR player like she was but...would he even care? Let alone be able to help. She didn’t even know much information or what was going on, the only conclusion she had come to herself is that someone seemed to be messing with her. Perhaps he’d think of her as a fool, or someone who couldn’t take a joke. Then again, he did have some concern for her, even if it were small. He could have been staying just to score some easy brownie points with her, as her mind went back to the time he called her cute earlier on. But he checked on her afterwards too, and gave her some water, made sure she was okay. Screw it. 

“Can I get your opinion on something?” She asked hurriedly. 

Kazuto paused the movement of the bottle that was just about to touch his lips. He pulled it away slightly and raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

She sighed, her bangs flowing on her forehead. “What would you do if someone from the VR world was messing with you in real life? Even if it was just a prank, what would you do?” 

He crossed his arms and swirled the bottle in his hand, watching the water form a whirlpool inside. “Well, it depends on what they were doing. If they are just having fun, I’d probably go along with it.” 

Asuna looked to the side, then back at him. “Okay so what if it wasn’t funny, say like...they wanted to spook you?”

“Well I’d ask 'em’ to stop. I’m not so good with scares,” He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. 

Her face planted the counter, hands grabbing at her own soft hair as it sprawled out behind her. “Right,” She mumbled into the countertop. 

“Is something wrong?” 

Where to start, she thought. She explained the whole situation to him, including her own self doubts and many apologies of her admitting that this may be dumb to be worrying about it so much. But the fact that two weird occurrences had happened on consecutive days, both things clearly aimed toward her was nothing to ignore, as Kazuto rightly pointed out to her. He went over a list of things it could be, much as she listed off players that he didn’t know and had to trust her word that her friends in the VR world _never_ do something like this to her. None of her friends were jealous, or mad at her as far as she could tell, nor were any of the guys she knew either. She explained what her guild did in SAO, that they couldn’t possibly have angered anyone with the good that they do for the realm. Asuna was sure in herself that she hadn’t made any enemies and Kazuto believed her. 

“Who’s the guild you help run? I’ve probably never heard of ‘em,” He said, confidence layered over his voice. 

Asuna blushed slightly. “Uhh, Knights of the Blood Oath?” 

She giggled as his eyes went wide. Their cheeks soon matched in colour, as he processed the information. Knight of the Blood Oath was the top guild in Sword Art Online, and a respected one at that. They were always searching for new players to join the ranks and help defeat the high level bosses, and the higher ups regularly shared their loot with lower ranked guild members in order to help with personal character progression and gaining XP. It was a fair and well respected guild system, but notoriously hard to climb up the ranks. Asuna had made it to second in command with her skill and leadership alone, and many looked up to her for advice and knowledge. She was always happy to help, though it often displeased her superior chief in command, as this meant she was away a lot of the time. 

Kazuto slammed his hands on the counter making her jump back in her seat. “You’re second in command for _that_ guild?!” 

Asuna combed through her ponytail and tilted her head to one side, smiling. “Sure am!” 

“Jeez,” He folded his arms back. “A real superstar over here.” He retorted, huffing. 

She only giggled in response, Kazuto making a mental note that it was a pretty cute laugh. Having her hair up was starting to annoy her, so she lightly grabbed the hair band and pulled. 

“So,” She started, and shook her head as her chestnut overly long hair became free, letting it pour around her shoulders and down her back. “What guild are you in then?” 

Trapped in her beauty, he could only stare at the sight in front of him. The beautiful, cute girl that only recently started working over the counter this summer was willing to even talk to him, that much surprised him. Not only that, she played games just like him, the same games as him! VR seemed to be such a niche market and yet...here she was, in all her glory. Second in command of the Knight of the Blood Oath, Asuna. 

She blushed a lot and could be a little feisty but it was a passion that made her so unique. Her long hair was hard to miss, though he decided he preferred it down than up even if it did get in the way. She had pale skin and was just shy of being the same height as him. Her eyes seemed to be the biggest catch of all, showing so much emotion just from them alone. They were big and complemented her face so well, just sitting above her well flushed round cheeks. He couldn’t tell if she wore make up, (to be honest with himself, he never could tell) but either way she was gorgeous inside and out.

"Kazuto?" 

He shook his head and blushed slightly, not wanting to make eye contact again knowing he'd be trapped again. 

"Why are you staring at me?" 

He pretended to rub his eyes with tiredness. "Sorry, I'm super tired. I keep dazing in and out. My guild? I'm a solo player." He replied confidently, resting one arm on the counter with the other leaning on his hip. 

"Is that so? Solo players don't get very far, you know," She playfully said back. Leaning in closer to him on both arms but not too close as to break a boundary. 

"I'm doing alright for myself so far. Besides, I get to keep all the cool and rare stuff I find. None of that sharing business-" 

"Ah but sharing is caring!" 

They were so enveloped in conversation that they didn't even realise the time. Asuna did actually have work to do, and Kazuto cursed quietly under his breath knowing Suguha would be annoyed with him for staying out this late. He kept his fondness of her to himself, feeling glad that they actually had more in common than he originally thought. She was easy to talk to, so easy that it felt like they had been friends their entire lives. 

He was hard to read, she thought to herself. He showed much emotion just as any other human did but Asuna had a hard time telling what his intentions were. She felt like she knew him but at the same time he was so mysterious, and that seemed to be part of the fun for her. The anticipation she felt everyday coming to work, knowing she would see him later when she woke up; truthfully, she slightly detested that he plagued her thoughts often, not that she would ever let on of course. 

Kauzto looked at his black and expensive looking watch and sighed. “I gotta go, Suguha’s waiting for me at home,” He flashed her a warm smile. “I’ll catch you later, Asuna.” 

Ah yes, the girlfriend, she thought. She wondered what the young girl that she remembered from the other day would say if she found out that her boyfriend was hanging around another girl a lot, a counter cashier at that. Nothing impressive but Kazuto still wanted to see her often enough. If it were Asuna at home waiting for him, it would drive her crazy jealous, she knew that much. 

He gave his usual wave before they parted ways, the bell chiming him out. She felt a strange kind of sadness, one that she hadn't felt before as she watched the doors close him out. Asuna felt as if she didn’t want him to go, that they could just stay like that, talking the whole night. 

She still couldn’t figure out if he had left his bottle of water on the counter on purpose or not. 


	3. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trapped together in the stock room, Kazuto and Asuna make a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda a long one, thanks for all the love so far! enjoy chap. 3!

Asuna was twirling her hair, clearly distracted. Even though Klein had been rambling on at her about things she needed to do during the night from the boss, she still wasn’t paying attention. The air con kept blowing the hair away from her fingers, the wisps flying about like butterfly wings as she tried to catch them, her eyes focusing in almost making her cross eyed. Something was on her mind.

~

It had happened this afternoon, whilst she was online in a deep dive. It was another guild meeting, where several higher ups including the chief commander officer gathered to discuss new raids, boss spawns and other such things. Asuna wasn’t really listening during the meeting even though usually her attention span was pretty good. For some reason, she kept drifting away in her thoughts and playing with her hair. She could only seem to think about the real world right now, and what was there in it. The only time she perked her head to listen, was when the Black swordsman was mentioned. 

“Chief Commanding Officer, Sir! I have a concern,” A younger ranked officer, fairly new to the guild but showed a strong sense of commitment, along with good battlefield knowledge. The Chief acknowledged his request, and he began to speak, the room silencing. 

“Well, uh, it’s about the Black swordsman, Sir. They are nearly the same level as the highest commanding officers we have here, and at this rate they’ll pass our-”

The Chief held a hand up to him, his palm and fingers lay flat. The Chief was a stern man, that held his values close to him. He didn’t share much about himself with other players but those who worked with him closely understood he was a dedicated hard working individual, who would gladly put his team's needs before his own.

“Thank you for your concern Tsui, but it is already being taken care of as we speak.” 

Asuna perked her head up in sudden interest, catching the eyes of a few fellow comrades. She wasn’t sure what this meant, were they going to kill him? PVP was allowed in SAO but it was strongly advised not to, a general respected rule of thumb across the realm as dying would reset your character status and level back to zero. They couldn't really be thinking of resetting someone's character, could they? 

The Knight of the Blood Oath were the top guild in SAO, and whilst they liked to flaunt that they were for the greater good, and Asuna knew that there were some good people with genuine intentions in the guild, it was really about having a monopoly, and a hold of power. Being the Chief allowed him to feel some sense of worth, almost that he ruled over the entire realm. If another guild or...solo player challenged his power, he assured the rest of the top guild members that they would remain at the top, and that any altercations or challengers would be 'dealt with.' Asuna never thought much of it, since a challenging guild or player had yet to even come close to the highest skilled players in Blood Oath. That was, until now. 

The mysterious Black Swordsman, declared Asuna's equal in combat though the two had never met, was now being talked about at the head table of the Blood Oath. She smiled to herself under her hand, thinking this player had done well for themselves getting this far that now they were considered a problem. Rest assured they had to be a good player.

"We could always blackmail him into joining us, say we'll reset him if he doesn't join the top ranks of Blood Oath. Then maybe we'll get to see a duel between this Black Swordsman and our very own Lightning flash, eh Asuna?" 

A tall man with a cheesy smile and blonde hair poked his elbow into Asuna's side, making her laugh and shrug him off. Daika had been with the guild longer than she had, and helped her learn the ropes when she had just been picked up. He was like a big brother to her, and though she was a quick learner and she needed little guidance, he was always there for her when she did need a helping hand. She still couldn't decipher his real intentions, whether he was really all for this complete control of the realm just like the others were, just like she  _ wasn't,  _ but either way he was a good friend to her. 

She rolled her eyes as her sole response, and the meeting was shortly adjourned after. Asuna stretched her arms out in front of her and yawned, still slightly bored from the meeting. Members of the guild and from the meeting had gathered outside the headquarters doors, mentors meeting trainees, friends and lovers meeting up to spend the day in the realm together. Throughout the crowd, she noticed a tall familiar scruff of red hair, one scruff she took over from every day in the real world. 

“Klein?!” Asuna weaved her way through the crowd, a thousand apologies coming from her mouth as she stopped in front of him finally, panting. 

“Asuna! Hey!” 

Standing next to him was Daika, a proud smile strung across his face. Asuna made a puzzled face at them. 

“This is a weird crossover I thought I’d never see,” She remarked with a straight face.

Daika chuckled. “Heh, well it’s the crossover you didn’t know you needed!” He said with a wink. 

Asuna tilted her head all the way to the side to look at Klein. “What brings you to my guild, Klein?” She asked in a monotone but playful tone. 

Klein slapped the shoulder of Daika, which made him widen his eyes a bit. “This fella here recommended I should join the ranks. You know, I’m offended you didn’t ask me yourself, Lightning Flash!” 

Asuna pouted, tilting her head back up and crossing her arms. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

She blushed profusely, looking away from Klein’s gaze. “It’s embarrassing when people call me that, you know. I’m not as good as everyone claims I am,” She raised an eyebrow to them both. “So, you're thinking of joining my guild then huh?” 

Klein scratched his neck and chuckled. “Yeah, I think so. I wanna be with the best of the best, ya know? Met Daika at an in game duel event and we started chatting from there.” 

“Wait a sec, don’t you already have your own guild? What happened to them? Don’t they need you?” 

Klein shrugged. “Daika convinced me, what can I say. My guild was fine with it, really. I appointed a new leader and they should be good to go any time soon now. I’ve had my fun raising a little guild, it’s time for me to join the big dogs now. I can be up there with you, Asu,”

She internally cringed and gave a fake weak smile. First of, nobody called her ‘Asu’. And second, he ditched his guild just like that? Asuna lost a bit of respect for him, realising that he didn’t really care for his guild members as much as he claimed to. He often bragged and gloated to her in real life about the small but worthy achievements his guild made, and for a short while, he seemed happy with them. Asuna took delight in him talking excitedly about his guild members and what they were up to, never letting on that her guild was on to much bigger and greater things. She kept her guilds whereabouts and what they were up to a mystery, though Klein often begged to know. They would be a lot closer now that they were in the same guild.

~

“Did you get all that? Hey, are you even listening, Miss Lightning Flash?” 

A flick on her pale forehead brought her back to reality. She rubbed it the red spot, pouting at him. 

“I told you to stop calling me that, Klein.” Klein raised an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms. She knew  _ he knew _ she wasn’t listening. “Okay, run it by me again.”

“Don’t. Get. Stuck. In. The. Storeroom. The boss hasn’t fixed the door yet, so it still locks you inside, one way. Be careful, don’t let the door slam. When you’re getting stock out prop the door open with the stool or something, okay? You’re not a ditz, I trust you to be smart, like you normally are.” 

Asuna pushed back off the counter and got out her apron from her bag, beginning to put it on. She looped her head through the hole and began to tie herself up. “That’s a rather backhanded compliment, you know.” 

The ginger pushed her hands onto his back and slowly began to shove him near the sliding doors as he laughed. “They’re the best I give! Lord knows you deserve them all,” He said with a cheesy smile. 

She rolled her eyes. “Get out of here already!!”

He held up both hands in submission. “I’m going, I’m going! Gonna miss my training with Daika anyways...welp, see ya!” 

Asuna nodded him out, and decided she would head to the stockroom first to get the task out of the way. Spotting no customers, she headed to the stockroom and opened the door slightly, remembering about the busted door. She made her way over to grab the moderately heavy grey stool, and hauled it back over to prop the door open. It stayed half way at the edge of the door, and when not moving for a few seconds, Asuna was satisfied. 

Training with Daika, huh. Deciding it was going to be heavy lifting for a bit, Asuna tied her chestnut hair up into a high ponytail, shaking the few bits of hair left out of her face. She was always so delicate with her hair, it being one of her most prized possessions. She shifted a few boxes around. So Klein really was taking this whole guild thing seriously it seemed. Even training with Daika, could he already be up to joining the higher up ranks? Maybe Daika put in a good word for him but, even so the commanding Chief wouldn’t let someone join the ranks so easily. Asuna had to fight hard for her place within the guild, and to become second commanding officer was a real achievement for her.

Though she had begun to notice that her stats, XP and level was becoming almost as high, if not higher than his. She already knew for a fact that Chief felt threatened by anyone who even came close to his rank, did this include her? Would even a member of the same guild not be spared, just for pure power?

“That’s a lot of boxes-”

“GAHHH!”

All of a sudden Asuna jumped at the familiar yet unexpected sound of Kazuto’s voice behind her, dropping the box she was carrying on to her foot. It throbbed with pain as she squeezed her eyes shut and held it up to her stomach. 

“Crap! I’m so sorry are you alright? Let me just get past here and move this-”

“NO DON’T!”

They both watched as the door slowly closed on them, Asuna dropping to the floor on her knees and admitting defeat. She started shaking as all the repercussions started to come into light. Klein would be so mad at her, but she had to call him now. 

Kazuto looked at her worriedly, not understanding the situation. “Uh, what’s wrong?” He tried opening the door. It didn’t budge. He tried again, this time gripping the handle with more strength and force, shaking the handle and in turn making the door rattle. “What the hell?”

“It’s no use,” Asuna said sighing, standing up from the floor. “This door is busted or something, only opens up one way?”

Kazuto looked at her, then at the door, then at her. His inky black locks turned which way each time. “So we’re trapped in here?!”

“Well,” She tapped her apron pocket and grimaced. “Not quite. Good thing I keep my phone on me at work, even though we aren’t really supposed to. I’ll give Klein a call, ask him to bail us out but...I don’t know what he’s up to so it could be a short while until he gets here.”

Kazuto sighed and slapped his palm against his forehead. “I’m so sorry,” He looked at her with pleading eyes. She hadn’t really seen his eyes lit up in a dark room before, and even though they were almost the same colour as their surroundings they still managed to shine out to her. 

“I got us into this mess didn’t I?” 

Asuna shrugged. “You weren’t to know about the door. I can’t blame you for something you didn’t know.”

Kazuto, although still feeling terrible about distracting her from her job and getting them locked in together, Asuna was being fair about this whole situation, much to his surprise. He wouldn’t have minded if she screamed and shouted at him, but she didn’t seem to lose her cool often. Even when weird things started happening around her, even if she was scared, she’d put on a brave face. He liked that about her, among other things.

“Well,” She slumped against the wall. “I guess I’d better call Klein.” She pulled out her phone, that had a cute fluffy blue case on it that covered all of it, and a few charms that he guessed were from shows he didn’t recognize. He awkwardly stood there, leaning against the door with his arms crossed as she held her phone up to her ear.

“Hey Klein, it’s Asuna...listen um, you know that thing you said not to do? Yeah it happened…I know I know okay!...I’m sorry I just....Yeah...do you mind coming over? I’m sorry...Sure....You’re a lifesaver...I know I owe you!...Alright...See you soon.”

She clasped her phone to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. Her golden eyes looked to him and nodded as she slid down the wall. “He’s coming. Said he’ll be about half an hour,”

Kazuto nodded in acknowledgement. It seemed a long time but he knew with Asuna at his side it would feel like five minutes, since they seemed to have good conversation. He made his way through the mess of big and small boxes, all holding stock and other various things to sit down beside her against the wall. It was a cluttered stock room, with just a small dingy light in the middle of the room, keeping it lit well enough just so they could see each other. It would be very easy to trip over a tiny box in all this mess, and with the way they were sitting they were hidden behind two large boxes. 

“So what about if you get any customers? What if they steal something?”

Asuna sighed. “It’ll come out of my pay check, probably. Since it’s my fault.”

“What!? No that’s unfair, its my fault really. Let me talk to someone, Klein, is he your boss?”

She looked over at him and giggled. “Nah, he’s just my coworker. I take his evening shift from him, since I do nights. I hardly ever see my boss since he works during the day. I mean, who even needs a convenience store to be open twenty four hours anyway…” She huffed. “Sorry, rambling. I appreciate the gesture, but hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“Trusting the general public? That’s rather bold of you,”

She laughed in response. He loved hearing her laugh, the way her eyes scrunched up. And she always covered her mouth, so politely. Maybe too polite. “Well, I try to see the good in everyone, ya know?”

“You’re the first…” He trailed off. “Say, did that guy ever come back? You know, the tall hoodie, shady looking dude?”

Asuna shook her head. “No he didn’t,” She tapped her chin. “Though, the day before something strange happened to me. I got a note saying someone was watching me which was creepy enough, but they knew my in game nickname. Isn’t that weird? I never talk to anyone outside of work, all my friends live far away so I don’t think it’s one of them pulling a prank but I don’t know who else it could be.”

Kazuto sat up, a determined look on his face. “You still have the note?”

“I think it’s scrunched up in my bag, why?”

“Can I see it?”

“Well…”  _ No,  _ Asuna thought to himself. If he played SAO for even half the time she has, he would know she is Lightning flash. It was embarrassing to be called that, but then he would know how much she really plays the game, how high level she was. She wouldn’t want him to feel turned off or threatened by her. 

“Asuna? What’s up?”

“I don’t...My bag isn’t in this room. But I can’t show you the note anyway, I’m sorry.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.”

“But maybe it would help if I-”

“Kazuto.”

“What?”

“Drop it!”

“Why? Let me help you, stalking isn’t right you know.”

“It’s fine I can deal with it.”

“Asuna-”

“I’M LIGHTNING FLASH OKAY?! I’m lighting...flash.”

Kazuto’s eyes widened, his pupils going small, like a cats. She really came out and said it like that...maybe she shouldn’t have but he was bugging her about it so much, wasn’t it just easier this way? After all, maybe he could help her figure out what was going on. He didn’t take his eyes off her for a while, barely even blinking. What would he say now? Probably something dumb, she thought. Her face felt flush as she knew she was going bright red, her eyes averting his mind numbingly long stare. 

She dropped her head in her hands, finally letting the embarrassment soak into the atmosphere. “Don’t just stare at me, for god's sake Kazuto-”

“Wow.”

Asuna let an eye peak between her middle and ring finger, tilting her head up slightly. “What?”

Kazuto closed his eyes finally, a slight blush creeping up on his own cheeks. He folded his arms and leant back fully against the wall. He sat with his legs folded and straight back to the wall, giving a confident stance. 

“It fits, you know.”

“What fits?”

“That you’re Lightning flash. It fits you really well.” 

Asuna turned even more red, letting her hands drop to her lap. She instead went for a play with her hair that she had quickly grabbed, twirling it anxiously. This he noticed. 

“You think so?”

From looking straight forward, he turned his head to the side so it almost rested on his shoulder. His eyes and smile gave a comforting, warm look.

“Sure I do!”

“So…” It was her turn to greet his eyes. They’d made eye contact before but never like this. They were close, much closer than they ever had been. Shoulder to shoulder, their heads turned towards one another. They could see each other in the reflection of ones eyes as they just stared for a moment, both feeling so vulnerable. 

“So, you don’t think it’s weird?”

He huffed. “No, of course not. Why would I think it’s weird? It’s amazing, to know I’ve met someone so famous in person,” He looked away. “Okay now I’m just teasing. But seriously, it doesn’t bother me, or change anything at all. If anything, it makes me want to help you more now. No wonder you’ve got some kind of stalker,”

Asuna sighed and held her knees up to her chest. “Yeah. It’s just so weird, this whole situation. I’m not really sure what to make of it,” She felt her heartbeat rise as she nonchalantly rested her head on his shoulder, so he didn’t see the blush on her cheeks grow fierce. Her hands were starting to become clammy, and she gripped her knees even tighter when she heard him suck in a breath and hold it. 

“It’s nice to know it doesn’t bother you. I’m not sure why, I just felt like I had to keep it a secret from everyone.”

“It’s...it’s u-understandable. Really.” He felt like a fool, stuttering his words like that. This is the closest they had been and it was hard to handle for him. She could feel him tense up and not moving in order for her to be as comfortable as possible. 

“Is this okay? Me, laying like t-this…” Now it was her turn to stutter.

“Yeah! Yeah we’re gonna be h-here a while so...get comfy,” He gave a weak chuckle, clearly worried about ruining this moment between them, if it even was that. Asuna tried to not think too much into it, only what was happening in front of them right now. 

Asuna lifted her head to Kauzto’s disclosed dismay, and pulled her hair band out of her hair, shaking it so it would flow down her chest and shoulders. She ran her fingers through her bangs and let out a small breath through her nose when she was satisfied. In the midst of her shaking, Kazuto had been rewarded with a face full of hair. 

She giggled apologetically. “Oops!” She brushed her smooth hair out of his face, almost getting a feel for his skin and how soft and well shaped it was. “Sorry about that.” She went back to resting her head on his stiff yet comforting shoulder, sighing a bit. 

“It’s okay, I prefer your hair down anyway. Even if I do get a face full of it.”

To that she giggled, and a humble silence came over both of them. It was really just time to study each other, each one’s little ticks and smells, how they moved their hands or what their heartbeats sounded like. It had been a while since Asuna had been this close to anyone, and it had been so long that she couldn’t tell if this meant anything or not. She didn’t even know this guy, so why did she want to rest her head on his shoulder?

She wondered if Kazuto was freaking out and putting much more thought than it’s worth into this right now, the same way she was. He had stuttered a bit when she first laid her head, and she definitely felt him tighten when she moved her head every now and then, but the more each minute passed, the more he seemed to relax. He’d always seemed so cool and calm in her presence, that it was kind of cute and refreshing to see him act this way in front of her. 

“Hey, Asuna?” 

“Hmm?”

“That Klein fella, is he...is he your boyfriend or something?”

Her gentle, calm gaze at the boxes in front of her stopped. Her head stiffened at the sudden random break in silence. Not only that, but to ask a ridiculous question such as that. 

“EH?! No! No no no no oh my god no...what made you think that?” 

Kazuto sighed, feeling dumb for even asking. “Well...you guys are close and all. You have good banter. And he got kinda touchy with you the other day so I just assumed-”

“You assumed wrong!!” She bellowed back at him, making Kazuto lower his head in apologies. Asuna sighed, leaning back on his shoulder and grumbling. 

“I guess I might as well ask now. That girl you were with the other day. The one with the black hair. Is she…?”

Kazuto shook his head. “Yeah, no. That would be my sister.”

Her eyes widened. “Your sister?! Oh gosh, I’m so sorry,”

He chuckled back. “It’s fine, really. Kinda funny that we were both worried about that kind of...thing.”

Asuna put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Yeah…” She couldn’t stop the wave of relief from rushing over her in that moment. So it was his sister. It made sense in her head now, the fact that they did look kind of similar, sharing the same hair colour and eyes. She cursed herself for assuming that right away, and wondered at the same time why she felt so happy all of a sudden. 

“Listen, Asuna. I truly wanna help you out with this whole stalker thing. How would you feel about meeting up, in game? If it is someone who knows you in SAO, then they’re likely gonna be there, right? Maybe we could I don’t know, find something out. FInd out who is doing this.”

Meeting up in a game felt like a big step. He would have to hang around all day with someone that was basically a celebrity within the realm, would he even be able to deal with that? Though, she did admit to herself that she would like to see him in game, what his stats and XP was. How good he was at fighting. 

Kazuto held up a flat palm, dragging her back to reality. “We-we don’t have to if you-”

She put her own hand on top of his, their soft skin finally meeting for the first time. He looked down at her and blushed hard. “It’s okay, really. It sounds like a good idea. I actually have a day off tomorrow so it works out for me. Only if you’re okay with walking around with a big name like me.”

Kazuto let her rest their hands in his lap and smiled as she held his hand delicately. It was exactly what he predicted her touch to be like. “Yeah, trust me, I’ll be fine. You really never lost a duel, huh?”

She huffed. “Yeah, I guess so. Everyone says I should duel this Black swordsman, whoever they are. They are the only one to match me in combat, so I hear. Nobody knows who this person is, and it’s really hard to contact them. But I’ve heard stories, they sound similar to me in level and combat style.”

“O-oh, is that so?” 

Asuna noticed more stuttering from him, and his chest felt tight again. His hand clawed up in hers into a fist, and she drew back her own hand, not that he noticed. “Yeah. My guild is always telling me I should duel them. Do you know them?”

“Uhh, no. But I reckon he’d put up a pretty good fight.”

“He?!” Asuna exclaimed, lifting her head to look at him. He bashfully looked away, knowing he’d screwed up. “So you do know him!”

“Ehh, well...not personally. But I’ve seen him around a few times-”

“No way! What’s he like?! Is he as badass as everyone says?” 

Kazuto scratched the back of his head. “Listen, he probably wouldn’t want us talking about him. You know, privacy and all.”

She was taken aback by his strange words, but complied nonetheless. “You’re right I guess. But I did want to try and find him.”

“Why’s that?” 

The ginger sighed, bringing her knees even tighter to her chest and resting her head on top of them. “It’s my guild. They were talking about...resetting his character.” Kazuto’s eyes widened in disbelief. 

Asuna acknowledged this and huffed in frustration. “It’s so horrible, I know. My guild hasn't really done anything like this before, since he’s the first player who’s even come close to the Chief’s level and stats. I think he feels threatened, not only that but from a solo player,” She paused to giggle a little. “It’s kind of cool, you know. That a solo player has come that far. Anyway, I think the Chief feels like he’s the ruler of the realm or some bullshit like that, so he wants to keep it that way. Anyone who threatens his power level needs to be taken care of, I guess.”

“And you agree with that?”

“No! Of course I don’t, resetting is immoral and a cruel act. It takes a lot for a player to grind their way up, no one should have that forcefully taken away from them.”

A hand landed on her head, as she felt her hair being ruffled with before being let go. She blushed and pouted in his direction. “Remind me why you work with these guys again?”

She sighed. “It never used to be this way, but ever since the Chief got higher in level he’s been acting so differently. And everyone just follows in like blind sheep. They don’t wanna get in his way, or they’ll be reset too.” 

“And you don’t follow him?” 

“It’s complicated. I want to fight for my guild because I believe there are genuinely good people in there. But I can’t agree with the recent actions of my guild,” She twirled a piece of ruffled ginger hair. “The Black swordsman is safe for now, at least. They kept referring to him as ‘they’ so, they haven’t narrowed down his gender yet. Though I’m sure it won’t take them long.” 

She looked down at her shoes, feeling conflicted. “I know I don’t know much about him, but I still think helping him is the right thing to do. Even if he doesn’t need it.” 

Kazuto smiled at her. He didn’t think she could get any cuter or impress him even more, but with every sentence she managed to show him a side of her that was different from any other girl he’d ever met. She was passionate about doing what was right, which was something he often found himself fighting for as well. 

“That’s very respectable of you, Asuna. I’m sure he will take your help gladly. We’ll find him together, tomorrow.”

Asuna looked up at him with her big golden eyes, feeling a sudden burst of excitement and determination just from his comforting words. “Really?!”

He gave one nod of his head. “Really. And we’re gonna figure out what’s going on in your guild.” 

Pink blush flushed out her cheeks as she gave him a big smile. “Okay!”

Klein eventually came to let them out, both bowing and spitting a million apologies. Asuna thanked Klein over and over, yet he scolded her for getting a customer trapped in there with her as well. Kazuto took the blame however, stating it was his fault they got stuck there. Klein grimaced at every word he said, not seemingly taking light to anything he had to say. Asuna couldn’t put her finger on why he was being so cold to Kazuto, even after he had made sure Asuna was okay to keep working the rest of the night. 

Kazuto was so kind to her, and it filled her heart with butterflies every time she thought of him. After he left, stating his sister would be worried sick, Klein made it clear to Asuna that Kazuto was nothing but trouble for her, preaching about how her work had been slacking ever since she met him. Asuna was offended but secretly knew he was right. She had been distracted tons as of late, and it was to do with him. But somehow, things that were happening in the VR world seemed to become more important to her than reality. And now that there was a weird rift between Klein and Kazuto, one which she was unsure of whether she could fix, she wanted nothing more than to be in Sword Art Online.


	4. Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking a nap in the fields of Aincrad, the duo encounter a patrol squad out looking for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sensei is used when referring to a teacher or mentor.  
> thanks for all the love so far! enjoy chap. 4 :3

Gaming and technology have come a long way in the past few years. Virtual Reality had taken off, and mixing it with MMO RPGs seemed like the perfect concoction of time wasting according to the ‘normal’ individuals of society. People began to sink hundreds of hours into these games, grinding stats and XP to get the best items and beat the bosses. Everything about VR felt so real, the sensations, and surroundings...even if it was just all pixels. 

The town she was in was small for a starter town, but it boasted cute medieval style buildings, the streets weaving in and out to hide coffee shops and item gear stores. Everywhere was paved with cobblestone, making the roads uneasy but giving the land more depth. Merchants and NPCs shouted constantly from their stands, as players shopped and wandered throughout the town, discovering each nook and cranny there was to be found. This floor’s weather was windy but mostly sunny. It was a rare event for it to rain in the Aincrad realm as it disrupted players activities, but it did have to happen sometimes. 

They had planned to meet in the usual spawn in the starting town of floor twenty, the same floor as Asuna’s guild was located, though it would be a short walk to her guild. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to waltz Kazuto in like it was nothing, they would have to be smart about how they approached this. They considered several options, Kazuto favoured the more ‘guns blazing’ approach, whereas Asuna decided the stealthy option was more viable, since they weren’t trying to start any fights, especially ones that would lead to her absence from the guild. 

They needed all the information they could get and as such, it was easier for Asuna to wear a different outfit today, not sporting her guild uniform. She wore a short white skirt and an oversized hoodie, keeping her long hair safely tucked down the back of it, as it was her most defining feature that could be spotted from a mile away. She kept her hands in her pockets and hood up, and decided that she looked rather shady leaning against the tower bell waiting for Kazuto to arrive. 

The ginger wondered what he would dress like, what his stats were, how he was going to act in game. It wouldn’t be that different from real life but, most players did decide to take on a sort of role play personality within the game since it was most people's escape from whatever poor reality they might be coming from. Would he be any different? Part of her hoped he wasn’t into the  _ serious  _ role play stuff, though the thought did amuse her slightly. Kazuto, the shining Knight in armour, comes to defend his lady. 

“Yo,”

She snapped her head to the direction of the voice. Kazuto stood there with a hand up, greeting her with a warm smile. Asuna studied him up and down, her eyes squinting. He wore casual clothes, a blue long t-shirt and brown slacks, with the most basic level amour plate on his chest, straps of leather crossing over one another. His hair was a little messy as usual, but she didn’t mind. His facial structure and body type were pretty much the same thanks to the in game scan, him being ever so slightly taller than her as he approached her. 

She eyed his level above his head, and the username  _ Kirito. _ His level was low for someone who claimed to play VR a lot. Level fifteen was maybe a mere ten hours if that. She couldn’t recall if he said that SAO was his favourite VR game but seeing his level made her deduce that he must play a lot of something else. So she was playing with a noob. 

“Hey...Kirito?”

He gave a thumbs up. “Yeah you said it right. You just use your I-R-L name? Jeez, no wonder you have a stalker-”

She punched him in the arm hard. 

“Okay okay, sorry. Thanks for waiting for me,”   


“Sure.”

They walked together through the town, Asuna leading the way. They didn’t say anything to each other, just soaked in the atmosphere and surroundings of the town and the grumble of the crowd of players. She didn’t know why but Asuna felt flustered to be walking so close to him, next to him, to be with him in a crowd of people and yet it still felt like just the two of them. Even though he was a low level noob, it still felt extremely special to walk through the town with him. All the people staring at him and he chose her, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit special. Kazuto didn’t even seem to realise they were being stared at, humbly making his way through.

Once they made it to the edge of the town, fields and a long path awaited them. It would be a walk to get to her guild's gates, this she had already warned him. The fields were full of lush grass, their vastness seeming to be a bit daunting at first. Luckily Asuna knew the way and they had a perfectly carved path to lead them on their way. 

“Just follow this path, right?”

To which Asuna responded with a nod, and with that they head out on their way. It hadn’t occurred to her that they would be alone together for a while, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on why now it felt so different to be alone with him than it was in person. These things were supposed to go the other way around, that it was fine in game but in person it was the opposite. So why did things feel so different?

The ginger was surprised that he hadn’t even mentioned her level. The level, displayed above everyone’s head, no option to keep it hidden. It was higher, much higher than his yet he didn’t seem to mind; or didn’t seem to care. He trotted away happily, absent minded as if this wasn’t bigger than it really was. Was he pretending? Maybe he was internally freaking out, like she seemed to be...all the time when he was around her. She was kidding herself but it gave her a false sense of hope that she wasn’t the only one feeling these things in one's presence. 

“Why is your guild so far away from spawn anyway?”

Asuna sighed, being dragged away from her confusing thoughts. “We’re well hidden from enemy attacks. Teleporting there would be a good idea but only guild members can teleport there, so…”

Kazuto shrugged. “Eh, it’s fine. Who doesn’t like a nice long walk in Aincrad anyway?”

Asuna jogged to catch up to be exactly beside him, turning her head to him. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, letting the wind blow through it afterwards. “Have you ever just stopped,” He stopped in his tracks, standing still and closed his eyes. “And taken in the beauty of this place? I mean, the sun, the wind, the smell of the grass and the scenery...I know it’s not real but, sometimes that line between virtual and reality becomes blurred for me.”

Asuna stopped behind him, and wearily followed his lead. She closed her eyes, closing off her sight senses and she smelt the fresh overgrown grass, felt the wind through her hair letting it blow out behind her and the air seep through each finger as she outstretched her hands. Ever since she got into the game, it had always been about fighting, always about getting to the next level and upgrading her stats. About serving her guild and the normal citizens of Aincrad. She never had time...No, she never took the time to appreciate what else the world had to offer. She was fighting all this time but, what was she fighting for? Now, she wasn’t so sure. 

Since her guild has become somewhat corrupted with hungry power holders, Asuna knew that that was something she could no longer fight for. But what she would continue to fight for was the original values her guild held. To protect the peace in Aincrad. 

“You’re right, I…” She started, opening her eyes and smiling at her new revelation. “I’ve never appreciated the beauty of it all. Not until now. I’ve been fighting all this time but to be honest, I don’t know what I was fighting for. But now, I know what must be done. I will protect the peace and tranquillity in this realm. I will stop those who threaten any of that, even the ones in my guild.”

Kazuto looked back at her and gave her a big smile. “I’m with you, Asuna.” 

She blinked, not expecting the sudden response that backed her every move. “T-thank you…” She mumbled, looking to the side and clasping her hands together. Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, a white shape started moving rapidly in their direction. 

Asuna turned sharply, ready to draw her sword at a moment's notice. Her eyes winced as she studied the moving object. It seemed to be bouncing in the long grass, and had long white fluffy ears that pointed upwards. She giggled, putting her hands to her side and face palmed. 

“No, I would still probably draw my sword,” Kazuto snickered. “Could be a high level boss-”

“Okay you ass hat that’s it!” 

Catching him off guard, she stormed at him full force with her hands out in front of her, tackling him to the other side of the stone path, knocking them onto the ground of fresh growing grass. He fell onto his back giving a loud ‘oof’ sound. Kazuto gave a high pitch scream and Asuna shrieked with laughter, her head nesting in between his right shoulder and the crook of his neck. He blushed profusely with her now laying on top of him as his hurting back was crushed against the grass, giggles of laughter still erupting from his ginger friend. He kept his hands fisted to his side, unsure of where to put them. He didn’t want to overstep a boundary and touch her where she wouldn’t want it, so he lay his arms there and scowled. 

“Y-You scream like a...hahaha!”

He huffed, a piece of black hair floating above his forehead. “Okay alright you caught me off guard that one time and...And I do not scream like a girl!” He protested. 

“You kinda do…” She said, finishing up her giggles. 

“Your hair...it’s in my-”

“Oh! Sorry about that eheh…”

Asuna rolled off of him and lay next to him on the grass, flattening it beneath her. She scooped the rest of her hair and dragged it to her side, breathing in the smell of the grass. They both looked up at the sky in bliss, drinking in every precious second that they were graced with. It felt so fitting that they were together in this moment, the sky was clear and blue just for them. All of their worries of the guild and the fight they would have to go through to retain the peace in the land all of it seemed...distant. Far too distant, comfortingly distant. Part of Asuna wished to be selfish, so she could spend all of her time here, with Kazuto. She wondered if he wished that too. 

“Hey…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think,” She became bashful. She’d repeated the sentence in her head thirty times over yet when it came to using her voice to speak she stuttered. “D-Do you think when this is over, we’ll do this again?”

Kazuto laid his hands behind his head, not taking his eyes off the sky above them. “If you want to,”

Asuna pursed her lips together. She didn’t know what kind of a response she was going to get but, it certainly wasn’t that. 

“Is that what you want?”

She nodded bashfully as her answer, ferociously picking at the grass beside her. 

“Then let’s do it. As many times as you want.”

Asuna let go of the sweaty grass in her hand and looked up to him. He matched her gaze, their reflections staring back at each other. They were closer this time, closer than they had been in the stockroom the day before. This time, they could feel each other's breaths, and it was hard to ignore the others' blush on each cheek, dusted generously. 

“You’re kind to me, Kazuto.”

“U-Uh, y-yeah...anytime.”

He looked away instantly, and internally cursed himself for being unable to stare at her this close for more than a few seconds without turning into a tomato. She was beautiful, so beautiful he didn’t know what to do with these feelings, how to process them, what they even meant. How deep did they go? He was unsure if he even wanted to explore that side of him yet, but the war that raged within him showed that the winning side wanted to protect and care for Asuna, no matter the cost. 

“It’s warm. And cosy. I could almost...fall…” 

He looked back over at her, her golden eyes cutting him out of her sight. After a few moments her breathing became heavier, as she was whisked away into dreamland. She unciosunly turned to her side and her mouth parted a little, mumbling some words he couldn’t understand. Her arms latched around his, as she curled up into the right side of him, nuzzling just below his shoulder. The blush reamined on his cheeks but for once he felt calm, like all was perfect in this virtual world. He closed his own eyes and knowing it was just the two of them, he allowed himself to relax. 

~

There was a smell, a mixture of hot, damp and grass that woke her from her slumber. It was dark for some reason, but the sun still beat down on her. It took her a bit to gain her senses, her surroundings. She had fallen asleep, for how long? Her memories before her nap came back one by one like a needle that was threading, her walk with Kazuto along the path, seeing the bunny, the tackle and...she cuddled up to him right as she fell asleep. 

She blushed, shaking her head and mentally slapping herself. Asuna wished she could go back in time and punch her former self for even thinking that was acceptable at the time. A sleepy haze made her act out in ways she wouldn’t normally have done, and now Kazuto-

Where was Kazuto?

She patted the flattened grass next to her. Empty. She looked up and realised she was under a...blanket? The ginger sat on her pale knees and lifted what looked to be a patchwork blanket above her head, taking it off slowly and blinking to adjust to the light change. Why was she under a blanket? And where the hell was Kazuto? 

Then came the shouting, rather loud a bit away from her. She stood up quickly, her vision going hazy once more from the sudden blood rush. Her golden eyes scanned her surroundings as quickly as possible, spotting a few figures in the distance down the pathway they had taken earlier. 

She instantly started running as fast as she could, panting and heart pounding as each step took her closer to exactly what she thought was there. The crashes of several swords could be heard, the ‘clang’ and ‘clash’ of a weaker sword against a stronger sword; she could tell the difference just by sound. 

As she was nearing the fight, her running began to slow it’s pace down, her legs giving out only due to her willing it. Her golden eyes widened as they absorbed the information in front of them. She finally stopped in her tracks, not even needing to draw her sword out. Her mouth was panting heavily from the running yet none of the three a fair bit in front of her had even noticed her presence. 

Asuna could hardly believe it. Kazuto was dueling two people at once, holding them both back, and  _ winning.  _ On closer inspection, they were wearing uniforms, uniforms that she recognized. The red and the white...members of the Blood Oath! She instantly dipped her head and sank into the grass, thanking her lucky stars that the grass was overgrown and the system hadn’t done a mass trim in the time she was asleep. 

Did she know these members? She had to get closer, to see their faces and hear their voices. Like a snake, she crawled through the grass on her stomach, edging closer to the fight. She was shaking, still unable to fathom how...how a level fifteen was able to hold off two players that are way higher level than him. The minimum level requirement to be in Knight of the Blood Oath was level thirty, so how…?

“H-How the hell? Hikari! Help me out here!” 

The smaller male was off to the side, missing off a large chunk of his health. Kazuto gritted his teeth, pushing against the larger male’s sword. The sound of the two swords clashing together made a sound never heard before, since the sword with the most power normally won the fight even if the player wasn’t very well skilled. Yet here was Kazuto against all odds, fighting with what sounded and looked like a basic level sword, holding off two higher level players. Asuna couldn’t stop watching in awe. 

The swords swung round, the elder male finally letting go. They bashed once more, Kazuto blocking each and every swing by the elder male who Asuna soon recognized to be Joe. Joe, the longer standing member and his trainee Hikari, had been present in the crowd outside the last guild meeting. She had only walked past them briefly but her eyes greeted Hikari with enthusiasm. She predicted that they were out on a walk scaling the grounds since they were close by the guild, maybe coming for a training session too. Kazuto, he...why would he fight them? To distract them perhaps, she thought to herself. She snapped her fingers, the scruffy patch work blanket made sense now. He was hiding her from them, and took them away from her. 

“Joe-Sensei* I can’t come back in there, he’ll knock out the rest of my-”

“Don’t be a foolish boy! He’s a level fifteen, we can take him!” 

Asuna gripped the grass on the ground, ready to spring into action if something were to happen. 

“But we came out here to look for Asuna, not fight anyone!” 

Joe dropped his sword at his side and sighed, looking over at the trembling Hikari. “You really are as dumb as you look,” He lifted his sword back to Kazuto, who kept a casual but ready stance. 

“Someone saw you two together in town,” Joe huffed, clicking his neck to one side. “She’s shit at disguises just as she is with that fake personality of hers. Pretending to care about people she doesn’t even know, wanting to do ‘what’s right for the realm’,” He hissed. 

“Who gives a fuck about any of that?! People like her just drag our guild down, that’s why-”

“Joe!” Hikari squeaked. 

Joe shook his head, stopping his sentence. “Right, right. Anyhow, we’ve got orders on patrol to look for her, so where is she? You were last seen with her. If you don’t tell us we’ll reset-”

“Reset me?” Kazuto chuckled, keeping his stance. “Go ahead. Do it if you want. I’d like to see you try!” 

Joe laughed loudly back at him, his eyes wincing and grip tightening around his sword. “This kid thinks he can beat us, eh Hikari? We’ll blacklist your name, and find you to reset you everytime you spawn-”

“That won’t be necessary, Joe.” Asuna stood up proudly, displaying her high level blue shining sword at her side. “I’m here.” Her hood had fallen down, long hair and skirt blowing in the wind with a determined look on her face. 

Hikari gasped, still situated on the ground. “Lady A-Asuna?”

Asuna drew her sword and aimed it at Joe, keeping her stance ready. They locked eyes, and Kazuto slowly made his way to stand beside her, keeping his sword raised. “You know for a fact I’m higher level and rank status than both of you. If the higher ups found out about what happened today you’ll for sure be kicked out. I think you forget that I am second in command.”

Joe wearily chuckled at her, lowering his sword and grabbing Hikari by the scruff of the neck to stand up. Hikair was a scrawny teen with brown fuzzy hair, it looked like he could barely wield a sword. Joe however was a taller, larger muscular male with a well made face and short blonde hair. It was this fact alone that astounded Asuna as to how Kazuto managed to hold him for so long. 

“We-We’re just here on orders Lady Asuna, the Chief is going to be-”

“Let me deal with the rest of the commanders. As for you two, I suggest you scram and forget this altercation ever happened. I will visit the commanders myself.”

“Right Milady. Let’s pack, Hikari.” 

Asuna and Kazuto kept their swords drawn until they were out of sight, both sighing of relief once they were gone. Kazuto wiped his forehead from sweat, and shook his bangs out of his eyes due to the wind. Asuna withdrew her sword, closing her inventory and began to stare at Kazuto curiously. 

“Man, those guys were dicks huh- uh, what’s up...Why are you staring at me like that?”

The fierce ginger stepped up closer to him, getting in and peering into his eyes. He looked away and back at her awkwardly. “Is something wrong?”

She huffed and crossed her arms, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “You wanna explain how you did that?”

“Did what?”

“Jee I don’t know, hold off TWO MEMBERS FROM MY GUILD THAT ARE AT LEAST FIFTEEN LEVELS HIGHER THAN YOU?!”

Kazuto scratched the back of his head after putting away his sword in his inventory, chuckling wearily. “Eheh, well...I don’t know how I-”

“You don’t know?! You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you cheating or something?”

“What?! No! Cheating is scummy, I wouldn’t do that. I guess they just...felt bad?” He said sheepishly, to which Asuna rolled her eyes. 

“Hmph. Well, in any case we better get moving to my guild. God knows how much time we’ve wasted here,” Kazuto nodded with his head down, following her tight lead as she began to walk. A few paces later and she stopped, half turning her head toward him with blush lightly dusted onto her cheeks. 

“And uh, thanks. For covering me with the blanket and stuff. Drawing them away. So they didn’t find me. T-Thank you.”

Kazuto scratched his tan cheek with his index finger and smiled, raising his eyebrows. “Sure, it was nothing.”

With that awkward exchange, she carried on walking along the path toward the guild. Kazuto was high up on her suspicions list, unable to fathom how such a low ranked player managed to fight off those two. He trailed behind her, sensing the tense atmosphere and shoved his hands into his pockets. 

Suddenly the blue sky and lush green fields didn’t feel so comforting anymore. 


	5. Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kazuto and Asuna sneak into her guild as planned, and listen to the Chief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so glad ppl are liking this mess <3 enjoy chap. 5!

They reached the tall, heavy looking gold metal gates just as the sun set over Aincrad. The guild hideout was the exact opposite of that; extravagance and perhaps an eyesore to some. It stood tall and proud, boasting the guilds pool of gold collected by many of its greatest members. Past the gates that only guild members could access, was the building itself. Three tall white triangle shaped buildings, the biggest being at the front. There were barely any windows for obvious reasons, and each triangle was decorated delicately with swirls of gold and the emblem of Knight of the Blood oath coated the tops of each individual triangle. 

It was a picturesque place both inside and outside the gates, Kazuto found. They walked quietly through the entrance since there was no guard on duty. During the busier hours of the day for the game, a guard was situated at the front of the gate. However, the higher ups often saw it as unnecessary, since the only people that could get through were members, by a hand scanner system. The possibility was there of sneaking someone else in just as they were doing so now, however the fear of being reset was too great for most to bear. Asuna decided that some things were becoming greater to her now, than the fear of being reset. Even though she had taken an oath and swore on her name that she would respect the guild rules, she found herself breaking those rules today, for the greater good. 

“Nice place,” Kazuto chided as he lazily strolled behind Asuna. “Not my kinda style though.”

Inside the gates, there was a yellow stone path leading to the main entrance doors of the first triangular building, where the guild meetings were usually held. On either side of the path was a large identical water feature, with a gold covered statue standing atop, getting covered in water as it sprayed up and came back down. There were trees lining the path every now and then, a generous space in between each plant. They provided shade for the path, as well as being gorgeous cherry blossom trees. 

Asuna huffed and turned her head back slightly to look at him. “Would you take this seriously, please?”

“I am! I’m just checking out your place, as all.” 

She scoffed and turned back around. “It’s not ‘my’ place, you idiot.”

“I mean, you have a room here don’t cha? Let me see it-”

“No way.”

Up ahead, the large entrance doors were becoming closer. Asuna was preparing to scope out the area first to make sure it was clear before sneaking herself and Kazuto in, and making her way to find the chief’s office. It would be risky, but it was evening time, so less players would be online. Alas it was going to be a challenge, but seeing as Kazuto didn’t need protecting…

“Asuna! Look!”

One of the heavy doors opened slowly, revealing a scrawny brown haired guy dressed in the guild uniform. He sighed, closing the door behind him, obviously not spotting the duo yet. 

“Quick, get behind that tree! And don’t say a word or I will-”

“Right!” Kazuto leaped behind a tree and stood his back straight against the bark, trying to regulate his breathing. That was way too close, how many more times were they going to be surprised like this?

The brown haired guild member made his way down the steps, ruffling his hair and shaking his head as Asuna stood awkwardly in the path, awaiting for him to see her. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes looked her up and down. He had never seen Asuna in this type of attire before, and he blushed a little from how cute she looked. 

Asuna’s gold eyes opened up when she realised who it was. “Hikari?!” 

“H-Hey Lady Asuna…”

They walked toward each other, Asuna shoving her hands in her hoodie pockets and smiling at him. Hikari rubbed the back of his head and continued to blush, not knowing what to say. The two had met earlier in a fight and now…

“How are you holding up Hikari?”

“Um, f-fine...Hey listen, I’m s-sorry about earlier, I-”

She held up a flat palm and he silenced himself. Asuna closed her eyes and bowed after putting her hand back down. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that, I apologise.”

Hikari began shaking his hands. “Gaah! Please don’t bow for me, i-it’s fine really…”

Asuna rose and continued to smile. “Thanks Hikari. I told you I’d come here to speak to them, so uh, here I am. What are you doing? Where’s Joe?”

He made a thumb and pointed it back toward the main building. “Talking with some people about what happened earlier. I excused myself, I’ve got some studying to do for school so…”

She ran her fingers through her bangs and sighed. She wondered who Joe was talking with, most likely the Chief. “Well, studying is important. I guess I better get in there and clear my name, huh. No hard feelings?”

Hikari finally let out a small smile to her, which she took graciously. “Totally.”

Asuna began to walk past him, turning her head back to him. “I’ll see you later Hikari-”

“You’re going in there like that?”

“Uh..”

She tilted her head down slowly and reminded herself out of her outfit. A hoodie and a skirt, a not so appropriate choice to enter her guilds building in. Hikari instantly bowed and started shaking. 

“I’m...I’m sorry Lady Asuna I don’t mean to be rude! It’s just you know how the Chief is, if he sees you like that…”

Asuna shook her head and smiled once more. “Rise, Hikari. You’re completely right, I’ll change into my uniform.” 

Internally, Asuna was cursing exactly how right he was. The Chief would absolutely not like that at all but she didn’t want Kazuto to see her in her uniform...this was going to be embarrassing for her. She quickly pulled up the menu and selected her guild uniform, and light blue pixels swirled around her as she changed into a red and white outfit, still sporting a skirt but now wearing thigh highs to go along with it, and a heavier top half that was reinforced with some amour. 

She swirled around to face him again, smiling as she did so. Her hair flew out from behind her, and her skirt raised up a little with the wind. “Thanks, Hikari.” She said once more. Hikari turned red as he nodded, looking down. 

“I’ll b-be logging out now, Lady Asuna. See you.”

With a burst of pixels he vanished, and Asuna let go of her smile as she sighed, wobbling about in her new shoes that she hadn’t worn in a while. She turned to face the tall building in front of her, a determined look now plastered across her face. Joe was in there somewhere, probably taking the whole situation out of context, making Asuna out to be worse than she really was. If Hikari could be so understanding, why couldn’t he? 

“My my, Lady Asuna, huh?”

She sighed and turned back on her heel, her fists balled at her sides. Kazuto, with his arms crossed leaned against the tree he was hiding behind, a big sly grin on his face. She turned red once realising he was seeing her in her uniform for the first time. He looked her up and down, the blush on his cheeks very faint. 

“ _That’s_ your uniform?!”

“Y-Yeah…”

He pushed himself off the tree and gave her a warm smile. “It looks good on you.”

“Ahh...thank you.”

She didn’t know why doing all these things in front of him felt so different than anyone else. Even just talking or being herself felt embarrassing, but why? She wore her uniform all the time in game, numerous citizens and guild members saw it everyday, so why was it a big deal if he saw it? 

It had been like this ever since he started coming into the store, in real life. Before him, her actions were careless and nothing she did ever took too much time or thought. But when he first entered, she stiffened, like a board much to Klein’s notice, and became embarrassed at everything she did. Every action was thought over a thousand times, questions she thought she didn’t care about started to pop into her head, thoughts of him when he wasn’t even around started nagging at the corners of her mind. She wanted to see him, a lot more than she cared to admit. She started taking more pride in her appearance, actually trying new things with her hair, her makeup. She was mindful of her actions when he was around, and everytime they spoke it felt like they had known each other a lifetime. He was easy to talk to, a kind and polite individual with a good sense of humour too. He could take a joke and didn’t mind when Asuna lost her cool. Not to mention he looked great, with a nice style and fashion sense, cool hair, and….

Asuna liked him. As much as she hated to admit it, she really liked him. 

Which is why she was taking this mission seriously. He had offered to help her instantly out of his own kind and free will, helping someone he barely even knew...she wasn’t going to pass this opportunity to discover what was really going on with her guild, and who was stalking her. A part of her felt as if he was stronger than her, even though he was a lower level in game. They would protect each other, that she was sure of. 

~

They crouched at the side of the gold coloured stairs - they weren’t actually made of gold, even for the most successful guild that would be a bit much - taking a few pants of breath as they had already climbed a few flights, with only one more to go before they reached the meeting floor. Asuna was in front of Kazuto, and had her full guard up at all times, checking every corner twice before they moved forward a flight of steps. It had become a routine; Asuna would peak her head up each time they almost got to the last step, check once, check again, make fast crouched steps up the stairs until the next check, always sticking close to the wall. They hadn’t encountered anybody yet, but Asuna knew it was soon to change. 

Kazuto had never seen this side of her before. So determined, cautious, yet ready for action. He could see in her golden eyes, the goal, and there was nothing that was going to stop her from getting it. He liked this version of her, the sassy Asuna who back-talked and didn’t take it from anyone, who was ready to fight for what she believed in. He didn’t know how, more so it was hard to believe that the shy, reserved and often embarrassed girl he knew in real life was hiding this much about her. He smiled, knowing that she too found solace in virtual reality, and she could be who she truly was.

Asuna nodded at him once more, her bangs shifting with the movement of her head. Her eyebrows were furrowed, that same determined look on her face. She looked up the stairs, peeing slightly and craned her neck for a better view. She was so focused on her goal, on keeping them safe that she forgot to cover the lower half of herself, very close to exposing her decency. 

Kazuto was no pervert; in fact he had already had to avert his eyes multiple times. But there was denying that she was beautiful, and her skin looked soft to the touch. Her thighs were on full display, pale and soft looking with blonde hair covering them. They were fairly average size yet even still, just glancing at them briefly made Kazuto widen his eyes and blush, before mentally slapping himself and looking away. 

“Alright clear, let’s move - uh, are you okay?”

Kazuto nodded sheepishly in response. To think of it, he had been weird this entire time on the stairs. But that wasn’t important right now. They were finally here, at the meeting room floor. And thankfully, the trust built within the guild had once again prevailed, showing no guard outside the large wooden closed doors. 

The meeting room floor was decadent, almost as flashy as outside had been. This floor had small windows, but since they were high up it gave a decent view of the fields they had just crossed. Part of Asuna wished she could spend time with him just gazing out the window, talking about whatever nonsense spilled out of their mouths. The floor was marble, and that theme followed through into the meeting room itself. The doors were large and had gold swirls on them and the door handles, a running theme throughout the design of this guild base. 

They slowly walked up the final steps, still crouching just in case. They finally slumped against the wall beside the entrance door, their legs having almost given out. Their breaths were slightly uneven but would soon calm down once they had to listen in.

"Alright," Asuna said between breaths. "Joe is inside, so I think we should listen. Then, we should try and find the Chief." 

Kazuto nodded in response, and they positioned themselves on either side of the door, resting themselves gently and each placing an ear to the door. It was muffled but, they could hear the conversation being held well enough. 

_"-and I do see why I should have had to let that little punk go-"_

Asuna smiled at Joe's furious comment, Kazuto looking at her having also heard it and stuck his tongue out playfully toward the door, meaning for Joe to see it. She had to cover her mouth as she giggled at him, Kazuto seemingly beaming at the fact he made her laugh. Even though she was laughing, it couldn't be helped that the Knight in her wished they weren't goofing around like this together. She promised herself that with his help they would take it seriously so...was it okay to have fun whilst doing these things? Her guild had always taught her to be seriousness and professional, much like her own family in reality had done. It's not like she didn't have a sense of humour, just that she thought these things weren't allowed. Yet with Kauzto, everything always felt right, and much more fun. 

_"Joe, you need to relax."_

'The Chief!' Asuna mouthed to Kazuto. He nodded and furrowed his brows, listening in further. 

_"Don't tell me to relax! That little punk-"_

_"ENOUGH!"_

The Chief bellowed so loud that it made Asuna jump and move away from the door. She put a hand to her chest and sighed, meeting Kazuto's grey eyes with relief. He looked at her with concern, however it was obvious he was holding back some laughter. She playfully tried to swatt him as he dodged the attack, pushing her arm and hand back with his own. They linked hands just for a brief moment, fingers intertwining in the tense but short lived battle. They both blushed and dropped their arms, resuming what they were here for. Asuna mentally slapped herself, she was getting distracted. 

_"We will deal with him. Just like the rest."_

_"So like the Black Swordsman and Asuna?"_

Her gold eyes went wide, and she began to tremble as she heard her name. She clasped her hands together, holding them tight. 

_"Yes. Whoever stands in our way will be dealt with. Unfortunately, it cannot be denied that Asuna is of the same level as the Black Swordsman. Who knows if they are in cooperation to overthrow us. She will be reset."_

Asuna gasped, eyes beginning to tear. She put her hand over her mouth to gasp the sound, though she's not sure how much good it did. Reset...her? But why? She's been a part of this guild even before the Chief and yet they really didn't trust her that much? Kazuto placed his soft warm hand delicately on her leg just above her knee and squeezed it. 

"Hey," He whispered. "I'm not gonna let that happen. Asuna?" 

Red. All she could see was red. How dare they even think to reset her, a valued member of the guild, a good player, a player with only good intentions. Was she a hypocrite for not standing up and saying anything when the Black swordsman's life was at risk? Maybe, she thought to herself. But this time it would be different. She was going to protect everyone. No one should have the pain of being reset, just because of power hungry guild members. She was almost disgusted with herself that she allowed herself to work under such scum, that had no regard for the realm or its players, only wanting pure control. She could see it now, more clearly than before. And she cared a lot more because it was her life on the line as well now. 

With a determined look on her face, she began to stand. Kazuto helplessly tugged at her skirt, trying to get her to sit back down. He could see the determined, enraged look on her face as her eyes began to well with more tears. He decided he hated nothing more in this world than seeing her cry. 

"Asuna!" He called, barely whispering anymore. "You can't go in there, if we start a fight then who knows-" 

"Then stay out here." She plainly said in a monotone voice, dragging down the menu to equip her sword. 

"You're not seriously thinking of fighting them, are you?" 

She looked down at him, eyes red and swollen, cheeks puffed in anger and eyebrows furrowed. "I'm doing what's right." 

Kazuto sighed, and nodded with the same look of determination on his face. He stood next to her, and bowed slightly, before equipping his own shoddy sword.

"Then I'm right behind you." 

The doors swung open, several eyes peering over to see the both of them. The Chief sat in the head chair, a big man with a medium length beard and stoic face. A few members sat around him, Joe included, all their eyes growing wide as they realised who it was. 

"And just how long were you planning to sit out there?" 

_They knew?_ Asuna thought to herself. She shook the thought out of her mind, and focused on whatever battle was going to be in front of them. The Chief got up from his chair and sauntered over to the open marble floor in front of them. The room was moderately decorated, almost the same as outside the room, except this room had pillars and a lower case 'N' shaped table with chairs all around the outside. The other arose with him, each placing a hand on their swords. 

Kazuto looked sternly ahead, yet his eyes softened when he focused on Asuna, who was just a bit in front of him. Even in times like this, when there was much more going on around them he still only wanted to look at her. The way her hair flew down her back, her stance with her sword ready to be drawn, her uniform that suit her perhaps a little too well, and her face. Her beautiful face, that even when angry still could make him melt. The look of determination and justice was so prominent in front of him, he'd never seen anything like it before. And he was amazed. 

"I heard your shitty words, old man. Is that really what you get a kick in this game? Resetting people for your own personal gain? Making sure no one progresses, so they don't have as much as you? You're a selfish bastard you know that?" 

He chuckled at her words, making Kazuto angry. "Come now, that's no way to speak to your Chief is it? I'm only doing what's right." 

Asuna spluttered in disbelief. "What's right?! What's right about resetting people for your own gain? You must be insecure, and if so I feel sorry for you." 

Kazuto saw the Chief grit his teeth, and smirked. _Must have hit a nerve. Good job, Asuna._

"What would you know, you brat. Always helping people, don't you realise they're just going to over take you and beat you? I can't let just any old random player take control of this world, that wouldn't be right. I know what's good for this realm, you'll see Asuna." 

Asuna looked at him in the eyes, more determined than ever before. Her own teeth started to grit as she spoke. "You don't know anything about Aincrad." 

"Oh? Is that so?" 

"There's so many beautiful things about Aincrad. There's so much more to this game than just being the best, or having control. You notice how it almost never rains? Or whatever the fields, have you ever laid down in them? They have rabbits in them, did you even know that? Or what about," She paused to look beside her briefly, glancing at Kazuto and making eye contact. If only for a split second, their eyes held each other and spoke. 

_I'm scared, Kazuto._

_I've got you, Asuna._

"What about the people here? Do you even know any of them, really?" 

The Chief began to laugh some more, using his sword to help him balance on the ground. The chumps behind him began laughing too, in unison with one another, making Asuna blush red and feel foolish. 

"What am I even listening to?!" The Chief's eyes trailed over to Kazuto, who's had was ready over his sword. "So this is the brat you were seen with?" 

He walked over, each step echoing loudly as he came face to face with Kazuto. Their eyes held each other, but it was more of a wrestle than the gentle holding they just did with Asuna's. She had never seen his face angry before, and part of it slightly scared her.

"Let's see if you're any good at protecting her like we are. Shall we duel for our Lady Asuna," He paused, giving Asuna a glance before continuing back to Kazuto. His breath was hot and close and his beard was almost touching him. His eyes seemed to bulge out if their sockets, as he became hungry with the thought of fight. 

"Black swordsman?" 


	6. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo confront the Chief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uploading this at 4am because my life is questionable. bit of a short one so i apologise for that, but thank you for reading, enjoy chap. 6!

Kazuto had always been into video games ever since he was a child. He barely remembered what his parents were like, as the fading memories of childhood always seemed to slip from his grasp. Yet the ones he could remember, so vividly were the times of playing games with his parents. Whether it was gathered around on the floor, each with a controller in hand or sitting on his Father’s lap watching him play on the computer; that was what he remembered most. It was the only way he could visualize them; why he had become so connected with the virtual world. 

At first, when he had finally decided to confront his grief, he hated that was the only way he could think of them. Nothing else came to mind, no other activities or events or even just evenings in his old household came to his memory though he tried so hard. He willed it more than he could bear, even taking it out on his Aunt’s family sometimes, whom he now lived with. 

After some steady months and support from his new family, he finally felt comfortable in his own skin, felt comfortable with the thoughts in his head before he slept. His cousin, which he now called his sister out of habit, re-introduced him to the virtual world. It didn’t take him long to sink his teeth back in, reuniting with an old lost lover of his. It would be a lie to say he wanted to put his studies first like his family always asked, but the virtual world would use it’s claws to keep dragging him back in everytime. He played them all; FPS, RPG, MMOs, Side scrollers, platformers...the list went on and on in his head, always trying to get better, be the top player, though he was never really sure for what reason. 

It was from a forum that he heard about Sword Art Online. The virtual reality world, MMORPG beta was testing and with his pot luck he decided to sign up regardless. He forgot he was even alive once the email for his acceptance came through, even tracing back the email as far as the internet would let him, in case it was a scam. 

The two weeks he first in SAO were bliss. It would be the first thing he did when he woke up, spending countless hours everyday, even one day forgetting to log out and eat. He didn’t meet many players there, with his knowledge he knew that everyone would likely stay in the spawn town and not adventure too far outside of it. There was only so far that he could go, so he stretched the limits and explored as far as he could, seeing every sight and walking every trail. Kazuto was sure of himself that he was the only player who took the game this seriously, appreciating its astounding beauty and depth, knowing every NPC, creature and boss had a detailed model and backstory. 

It was hard to let it go when the time finally came, but just a mere few months later when it finally came on sale, Kazuto couldn’t have grabbed it any faster off the shelf. He already had some knowledge on the game, and though bits and pieces had been shared across the internet, he decided to be selfish and keep what he knew to himself to get ahead of the game. It didn’t take long for him to rank and level up, killing all the difficult bosses on the lower floors by himself. After acquiring some new gear and swords players hadn’t even seen spawn in game before, he gained the nickname  _ Black Swordsman.  _

He didn’t like the attention, but his true identity was hidden thankfully. He took duels and hadn’t lost a single one, even if multiple players attacked him at once. His strength and power was undeniable, being near the top of the worldwide leaderboard of players. There was only one person in front of him, the Chief and leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Yet, he found himself not being bitter about it. He just wanted to have his fun in the game, and he figured he happened to be a good player. Guilds started popping up everywhere around him, many offering him invitations to be the leaders but he declined every offer. He was good as a solo player, and had made it this far because he was only looking out for himself. 

So why was it, when faced with the top player in SAO standing directly in front of him, and his equal standing behind him, that he wanted nothing more than to protect her?

As the Chief got wearily closer, Kazuto drew his shitty low level sword. He cursed under his breath, knowing that even with his skill this wasn’t going to be enough. Kazuto grit his teeth, letting his black bangs get in the way of his eyes clouding his vision. 

_ “Black swordsman?” _

His heart stopped, just for a moment. The Chief's words echoed around the big meeting room, like a ghost bouncing off the walls and right into Asuna’s head. He turned his head weakly, not wanting to even look in her direction. With his eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, he wanted to speak, to let the words come out but; he had nothing. Nothing could claw its way out his throat. There was an explanation, of course there was. But now wasn’t the time or the place to explain it. All it could do was sit in her heart as her confusion and anger took over. She looked back at him, her own mouth parting, her eyes matching his wideness in disbelief. 

The Chief picked up their exchange with eyes of his own. He looked back and forth, and then crossed his arms and chuckled. 

“You didn’t know? Haha, even better!” 

His laugh became louder, though they both drowned it out. Pupils exchanged words, just like they had done so before. 

_ W-What…? _

_ I’m sorry, I can explain... _

_ I don’t… _

Kazuto looked back towards the Chief, his black thin brows furrowed with anger, the Chief only smirking in response. 

“What a shitty little secret you kept. Even with your low level account, it was easy to see right through you. Thanks to your encounter with Joe, we got all the information we needed.”

Kazuto let up his look of anger to stare confusingly at Joe. What had he done, what had he said to make it so obvious? 

Joe put his sword away and scoffed. “Still don’t get it?” He asked. “My, you are dense. There’s only one person in the game who has been given the duel wielding ability. That’s you, Kirito. You kept reaching for your second sword, though, it wasn’t there was it?” Joe finished with a laugh. 

This only made Kazuto grit his teeth some more. He took a more fierce stance, ready to fight everyone in the room. With that kind of determination, he was sure he could make this low level sword work for him. 

“You’re on a different account, so you don’t care about being reset, is that it? Hoping your ‘skills’ would get you far enough?” He scoffed. “Please. I’m not interested in you, not while you’re on this shitter account.” The Chief looked behind him at Asuna, who still looked confused and hurt at this information she had been given just mere moments ago. 

“I will however, finish up Asuna here.”

Her head snapped towards him, instantly drawing her sword, holding it strong with both hands. “Try and reset me you power hungry freak.”

The Chief laughed once more, gently touching the tip of her sword with his thumb and lowering it. “Do you even realise what having power is here?” He put his arms behind his back and paced between them. Asuna and Kazuto kept their eyes on him, watching him take each step, not moving their eyes off him in case of a sudden move. 

“Every top guild in SAO received something. It’s a distribution of power. When the Game Master passes on, he will give the highest player in SAO control of the realm. You would know that already Kirito, if you were in a guild. Too stubborn I see? To have power. Would you not want that? Do you have any idea what this means?” His eyes began to bulge, mouth watering at the thought of controlling hundred of thousands of players. 

Asuna shook her head, moving her bangs. “We’ll escape here, and tell everyone. People will log out, and never come back.”

The Chief cackled at her attempt of foiling his plan. “Not if I remove the log out button…Oh, and you won’t be escaping from this.” He howled, drawing his sword. The look on his face was frightening 

Kazuto’s eyes widened. He knew exactly what that meant. He turned quickly on his heel, running for the door and grabbing Asuna’s hand along the way. She shrieked with surprise, as he ran as fast as he could down the stairs they once had stalked, hearing the Chief’s laughter echo down each flight of steps. Her hair flew down behind her, and watched as he ran in front of her. Asuna begrudgingly ran behind him, only due to the fact that the grip on her was strong, much stronger than she had anticipated. It would leave a mark. What were they running for?

It was just as he expected when opening the entrance doors to leave. Surrounded by soldiers and Knights, they were stuck, with only one way to get through. Kazuto equipped his sword and a stance, ready to take on the fight. There looked to be about fifteen of them, some of which Asuna knew personally. Unfortunately that came with knowing their fighting style, since they often fought in formation. Cleaning them up would be easy with her by his side. 

“Don’t…” 

Asuna breathed out. “Don’t kill them. Just fight them off.”

“Right.”

The pain in her voice caused him more pain than the battle itself. They were a good fighting duo it seemed, tag teaming and covering for each other constantly. They even had a few good roll outs, one being the shield and other damage, jumping over each other’s back and rolling underneath one another. The guild members began to give up one by one, leaving the exit and their escape clear. He found it difficult to watch Asuna’s face as she fought off her guild members, wondering if they felt the same about her as she did for them. 

Would it be as painful on both sides?


	7. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kazuto and Asuna see rain for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in uploading, pls enjoy chap.7!

There were grey clouds over them as they walked towards a nearby cave they could see in the distance. They walked through the fields they had once napped in, Asuna forgetting the beauty she had once seen in them. It was getting colder, and she shivered and held her arms around her chest. She walked fast, yet without purpose it seemed. Each step was harder, more angrier than the last. The clouds seemed to get darker each time too. It rarely rained in aincrad. 

Asuna walked ahead of him, quite far ahead. Part of her hated the fact that he trailed behind her like a stray puppy, looking for a new home. She wanted to hug him, tell him that it would be alright, they would figure it out. The bigger, more angrier part of her wanted to punch him square in the face. 

He had lied to her, to put it bluntly. And after lying to her, dragged her away from a fight she  _ needed  _ to fight, in order to save her guild, to save the realm and it’s players. Now they were walking, neither knowing the real destination. Asuna was just blindly walking, and the clouds pixel clouds looked as if they were going to give way to a bunch of water that Aincrad hadn’t seen all summer. The cave she saw up ahead in her map would shelter them, at least for a while. They couldn’t stay there for long however. Asuna knew they would already be out looking for her.

They reached the dingy cave. It was grey stone, not really much a cave but more so a small cavern burnt into the side of a small mountain. It even had ‘seats’ for players to sit down, disguised as well placed rocks. She had been playing the game long enough to know that there were hidden humanoid structures delicately hidden all around Aincrad, to benefit the players. The clouds grew even darker, a harsher shade of deep grey that could almost be mistaken for the night sky. 

Asuna sat on her seat, the furthest closest to the wall, the furthest away from him. She sat crossed legged, with her arms crossed and head held high, looking out across the fields. What once were lush green fields that they had walked through, laughing and chattering the entire way, where once they had  _ laid _ together and slept. Had he even slept next to her, or was he just waiting for the fight to happen?

The fields now looked dark, damp and grey. She smelt it first, the rain in the air. It had that fresh, revival smell, like it could cleanse the world. Then, the first  _ pit pat _ of drops landing just in front of her white shoes. They were just on the brink of being outside the cavern, daring themselves to get wet at the front. She didn’t attempt to move them as it started to rain harder, the water showering the land that had walked upon. When the clouds released, it poured down relentlessly, a non stop shimmer of clear water. Although the rain was refreshing, and normally Asuna didn’t mind the rain, today, it had never felt so dreary. 

Kazuto clung to the top of the cavern ceiling, being slightly too tall to stand up in it. His back was hunched in a desperate attempt to stay dry, unsure of whether he could even sit in the same space as her anymore. Asuna didn’t have to look at him to know the look on his face. Pleading, with sadness and regret. She’d seen that face before, on other people who had betrayed her in the past. 

“You can sit, you know.” She mustered up, still looking out across the fields. “You’ll get wet.”

He didn’t say anything, only sighed and moved in, sitting at the opposite side of her on the stone bench. The silence in the air that they shared was deafening, and Asuna hated every second of it. She wanted nothing more than to just run away and leave as each second painfully ticked by. The only thing they could hear for a while was the harsh whispers of the rain, and each one of them occasionally let out a shaky, cold breath, seeing it spiral in front of them before it evaporated. Asuna wrapped her arms around her tighter, shivering. She could change into her old outfit, but she didn’t want to move or make a sound, because she knew if she did, he would say something. 

“You’re cold,” He comments. He was barely audible due to him mumbling, but she heard. He would say something anyway, it seemed. 

“I’m fine.” A particularly harsh wind flew through the air, making her shiver more and look like a fool in front of her words. She huffed in annoyance, still refusing to look in his direction for fear of breaking down. Asuna hated to admit, but she could get quite emotional sometimes. This was one of those times. 

She could hear the pleading in his voice. “Asuna-”

“I said,” Her voice cracked. Her vision became blurry. She willed, harder than she ever had for the tears, the emotion to stop flowing. “I-I’m fine,” Her voice wobbled and her fingers gripped her cold skin on her arms even harder than before, knowing she would leave a red mark. 

“Asuna-”

“DON’T!!” 

She snapped, finally the string inside of her keeping her cool broke. Asuna turned to him, letting go of her arms and flinging them to her side, fists balling. Her eyes were open and vulnerable, and she finally allowed him access into her soul. It was hurting, that much he could tell. Her eyes were shimmering, but only glazed over with tears. They dulled her normal bright and happy eyes, and he hated that he was putting her through this. 

Her eyebrows were raised, her cheeks puffed and blushed. Her mouth parted to say something, but what to say? What words could even come out right now that were appropriate? Where to start, how to even start. Should they start? Or leave it in the dust? She didn’t know. She sunk back to her original position, and clasped her hands in her lap. She looked at the ground. The tips of her shoes had gotten wet after all. 

“Don’t,” She repeated. Her eyes only continued to look down in defeat, a feeling she had never felt before. “You dragged me away from a fight I needed to win. You dragged me away from my duties as a protector of this realm, of its people. How? How could you do that to me?”

Although her head screamed at her no in the distance, her heart dragged her by the chin to look up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. He only looked at her with a stoic face, clearly upset and guilty. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his hands under his chin looking out across the fields. He studied them. 

“You weren’t going to win. At least, not by yourself. We need to fight this together, with back up-”

Asuna huffed in response, offended by his words. “That’s not for you to decide,” She returned to her original position. “I know the strength of the guild and it’s members. Did you even see how we fought off those guild members when we left the head base?” She paused, collecting herself and taking a breather. “Do you even understand how painful this is going to be?”

“I’m not doubting your skill, or trying to underlie your feelings...I’m just saying we should be smart about how we go about this." 

Her gold eyes glared at him as she slightly tilted her head back. He sat up and looked worried. "You decided I was weak the moment you pulled me from the fight. I could've won it. I know it. Then we could have told the masses, and-" 

Kazuto placed his face in his hands, and she could see the frustration in him becoming more potent. "Asuna, there were like six guys in there all close to your level-" 

"So what?!" She stood up throwing her hands in the air. She started pacing in front of the cover, letting herself begin to get wet from the shower of rain. She decided that wasn't important right now. 

"Ohoo you're saying you could beat them-" 

"I'm not saying that-" 

"BLACK SWORDSMAN!" 

Her harsh yet truthful words echoed through the cavern, through the fields. She had shouted them out so loudly that even it stunned her. She grit her teeth and gripped her newly dripping wet skirt. 

Maybe she hadn't meant to shout it. Shout it so loudly, and at him. Maybe she hadn't meant to shout at him. She didn't like shouting. And watching his face turn into even more sadness made her gut feel guilty and her stomach do flips and twists. 

"Let me explain-" 

"No," She found herself starting, pointing a finger up to him.  _ Stop.  _ She thought.  _ Let him explain.  _

"You lied to me. I told you who I was from the very beginning," Her voice choked, tears starting to form again. " 'We'll find him together, tomorrow' ? What was your plan all along, really? How were you gonna tell me, or were you not even planning on telling me, huh? This game isn't a joke to some of us you know!" 

She bellowed her last words, letting the tears gush as she covered her eyes with one hand and let out a sob. 

"Asuna, please don't cry-" 

"Just shut up!" 

"They were gonna reset me! You were the one who told me that," He got up hastily from his seat and approached her cautiously, Asuna trying to cover her face and tears that it caught her off guard when he tried to cradle her. His soft warm embrace was comforting even though now they were both getting wet, each one's hair damp and flattened, their fingers wrinkly and clothes soaking. She, just for a split second, let herself be held, be cradled by a man who betrayed her. It felt so wrong for her to do so but she indulged in his close touch, even if only for a second. 

"Look, if anything you were the one who saved me, alright?" He went to stroke her hair but she broke free of his grasp, shaking her head and walking past him. Her back was to him, and they had swapped positions. 

"While you're hiding behind some low level account I'm out here risking everything for the things I care about," She turned once more, looking him in the eye coldly. "I wish you could do the same." 

Drops of water left her bangs and hit her chin and chest. They stared at each other, neither knowing what to say after that. Kazuto kept the same hopeful, pleasing yet sad eyes at her as he tried to think of something, anything to say that would make her change her mind about him. 

"I want to stop them. I do. And I'm sorry for lying to you, I really am. But we  _ are _ going to need more man power if we want to really get the message across and stop them for good." 

Asuna scoffed and shook her head, looking at the ground. "You think I'm just some weak girl that can't fight her own fight is that it?" 

"What?! No-" 

"It's true! The other day when you didn't leave the store-" 

"I was just looking out for you-" 

"I don't need you to look out for me, I don't need protecting, especially not from someone like you!! I’m the only one that can save my guild-" 

"YOU'RE AMAZING!" 

She blinked at his loud words, stunned and staring at him. Her words had snapped her back into the false reality he had made for them, the one where she felt blushy and embarrassed whenever he was around. 

"The way you hold your sword. The way you fight. The way you play with your hair, and the little drawings you do. The way you tab your pen against your cheek when you're bored at work. The way you smile, and laugh. The way you walk and run, and the way you always look back at me. I think you're nothing short of amazing," He was bright red, but continued regardless, scratching the back of his neck. 

"Your determination is something I can't ever, don't think I will ever forget. You've inspired me. I wish I could say determination was enough to win a battle-" 

Asuna looked at him through teary eyes, and crossed her arms for the final time, shivering. Her damp hair clung in swirls to her uniform and around her shoulders, and she could physically feel her uniform clinging to her with water. He looked the same, the rain making his hair even darker than it already was. His own eyes began to tear, almost as if he dipped into the future to know what she was about to say. 

"I liked being around you. I liked your dumb jokes and teasing, I liked your smile. I liked your voice and how the room lit up whenever you were there. You made my stomach do flips when you looked at me with confidence, like you had everything figured out. I was jealous. Because I don't know anything, I don't know anything at all." She sighed, closing her eyes. 

"Maybe you're right about some things. Maybe you're right about me not being able to win, but...I can't forgive you. If that's how it is then...I'm logging out of SAO, and I'm not coming back." 

Her fingers dragged in front of her, the world around her slowing. The hammering rain was gentle now in her ears, the drips of water from Kazuto fading into nothing. She could only see his shaking head and pleading voice as it cracked out it's final words. 

"Asuna, don't go-" 

_ Successfully logged out of Sword Art Online.  _


	8. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asuna has an unwanted confrontation with Klein.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all! sorry for the long hiatus, needed a bit of a break from this fic xd i have plans to finish it so dont give up on me yet :) enjoy chap. 8

The Black swordsman walked with purpose. Except, he wasn’t the Black swordsman in reality. He was Kazuto Kirigaya, and he had messed up big time. 

He never was good with explaining things, or with his emotions. Ever since his parents left him, he found himself suppressing his feelings and not talking to anyone, even with his sister constantly pressuring him to talk. He hadn’t felt comfortable to do so, and when his parents were alive that was the only time he felt as if he could connect to people. Life harshly cut them away, and so he closed up like a clam, refusing to acknowledge any emotion that came his way.

This proved to be troublesome at school, finding difficulty in making friends and often getting into fights. His grades slipped even though his relatives knew he was intelligent, just that he wasn’t  _ applying himself.  _ He’d heard that too many times for it to mean anything anymore. Despite all this, he still seemed to be popular with the girls, not that it even mattered to him. Whilst walking through, he’d hear whispers and giggles of the girls around him, passing him or standing still, though he pretended to not hear them. Eventually he found it too much, so would trace the halls with his earphones in his ears, sometimes not even listening to music. 

He’d received several confessions, all of which had been awkward experiences. However, he always seemed to acknowledge the courage that it took for these girls to stand before him, and for that he would always express gratitude, though he never once accepted. He wasn’t ready for commitment, and the girls at his school seemed like minded in their trivial dramas and day to day activities. He had decided if he was going to get involved in anything, it would be on his own terms, and with someone who was as like minded as him. 

Then after late nights at work, he started heading to the convenience store that was on his way home, and she was there. Looking bored, but she had a cute pouting face when she was concentrating on her scribbling. Between the aisles, he’d steal glances of her, flickering through the shelves and past items. Even when he was browsing and picking out things to buy, his eyes would always trail back to her when they could. And she never even noticed, being blissfully unaware of his eyes studying her beauty. This was the first time he’d ever been struck like this, the first time he didn’t want to look away, the first time his stomach did twists and flips as he left the store, knowing that her eyes would be on him. 

It had been even better, his feelings had increased even further when he discovered she played Sword Art Online. Kazuto often found himself fantasizing about spending time with her in game, though these would fall short when he realised his status within the game. He had hidden it from her, to keep himself safe but he also couldn’t deny that part of him didn’t want her to know. He had finally admitted that to himself, and now it was time to admit that to her and be honest. He was heading to the shop to patch things up with her, in person. 

He stopped briefly upon turning the corner to the store. It was late, and the street was dimly lit by the lamps that had accompanied him for most of his journey. Kazuto had scuffed his feet all the way here, kicking up the occasional stone to think about what to say. With a determined nod, he headed closer to the store. She came into view through the window, with her head looking down. She looked sad, keeping herself desperately busy like that. 

Kazuto immediately ducked under the window when Klein came into view, pacing down the aisle giving her a warm smile. He crouched under the window, deciding to wait until he was gone to set things straight. This reminded him of the time they crouched in the stairs, and his mind flashbacked to the time he saw her delicate pale thighs, and almost up her skirt. He shook his head. Why was he thinking of that now? 

His ears perked up when he realised he could make out their speech even crouched under the front store window. It had been a few days since their fight and hearing her voice was the dopamine rush he didn’t know he needed. He didn’t realise that this was exactly how much he missed her. 

~

She missed him. Asuna didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she did. She couldn’t go crawling back to him, she hadn’t ever gotten his phone number so she couldn’t text him either...and there was no way she was logging back into SAO. She felt lost, and defeated, most of all. A new feeling she hadn’t experienced before, a sense of hopelessness. Work had kept her distracted for the most part, completing meaningless tasks and doodling whenever she really had nothing to do. She hated being left alone with her thoughts, and so Klein had offered to stay with her a bit later after his shift to keep her company. 

“Got em’!” He announced proudly, holding up two bottles of water he had gotten from the back stockroom. He walked towards her with a dumb smile on his face, and she couldn’t help smiling briefly back. Klein really was doing his best to cheer her up. 

It had been a few days since their argument, since she logged out forever, and though Klein didn’t want to press her to talk it was clear he was interested in what was happening. Kazuto hadn’t showed up at the store in those few days, so that confirmed to her that she’d really done it. Driven away the guy she felt comfortable around, the guy who she missed right now. Why did she miss him? She was supposed to still be mad. The guilt was driving her insane. 

“Thank you” She breathed, taking the bottle from Klein’s hand and gulping it down as quickly as she could. Klein stood awkwardly and scratched at his arms. 

“Soo...feeling better today?”

Asuna shook her head and continued gulping down the water. 

“Uh, you probably shouldn’t down that all in one go-”

She scrunched the bottle triumphantly and tossed it on the counter, wiping her mouth. She raised an eyebrow to Klein who looked at her worriedly. 

“Please talk to me, Asuna. You’re not okay.”

The ginger threw her face on the counter and thread her hands in her hair, letting it get messy. “I’m really not,” She mumbled. “He lied to me and took me away from the fight but I still want to see him. Why do I still want to see him? I mean I think I miss him maybe? I don’t know I don’t know anymore but I can’t even contact him and-”

“Woah woah slow down there,” Klein let out a weak chuckle. “Fight? What fight?”

“There were two fights.” She grumbled, her face still pressed against the counter. Asuna lifted her hair slowly from the counter, raising her eyebrows with a pleading look at Klein. He looked down at her, bending down slightly. 

He blinked, waiting for her to continue. She sighed, with tears in her eyes and explained everything to him in a rushed mess, guestering widely and letting her voice crack several times. Once she had finished, she took a deep breath, letting everything that had happened over the past few weeks and days sink into her skin, her and Kazuto’s fight being the most painful. 

“And so,” Asuna sighed. “It turns out Kazuto is the Black swordsman.”

Klein’s mouth parted slightly at the revelation, yet she found herself wondering why he seemed more worried than surprised. “Is that so…” He trailed off, eyes looking to the side. He was clearly in thought but Asuna found herself too distressed in recalling the most recent events in her head that she remained too unfocused to care. 

The ginger slumped down again, feeling defeated. All she could see was black, her face firmly pressed back into the counter. Even though confiding in Klein was supposed to make her better, under false pretences he had lured her into a fake sense of comfort. The only person that she even wanted near her now was nowhere in sight, and she had no way to get close to him, no way of contacting him. Her mind raced, she could feel each last desperate thought clinging to her as her heart begged her to do something. 

Suddenly, she felt a hand snake up her back and slowly stroke the top of her head. Her golden eyes jolted open, disliking the new contact she felt. Though her distaste persisted, she didn’t dare move, awaiting Klein’s next words. It was unlike him to do this to her, he didn’t touch her often but, he never had done so like this and all Asuna knew was that she didn’t like it, or want it. 

“It’s alright,” He cooed, almost mechanically, as he let his fingers weave her hair. “I know what it’s like to be betrayed by someone that’s close to you. I’m here for you-”

As she felt his other hand reach down past her lower back, she immediately pulled up from the counter, and gave him a fake weary smile before raising her hands and walking past him, to the opposite side of the counter. From the angle, she felt like a customer. This is how Kazuto felt all those times he talked with her playfully from this position, she mused to herself. Even in these times of uncertainty, her mind still wandered over to thoughts and memories of him. 

Klein snatched her back into the real world, by giving her a look of disappointment, of distaste. Asuna laughed meekly, trying to defuse the awkward situation he had placed upon them both. 

“Klein, really, I’m o-okay.” Her eyes watched him slowly pace around to her, making every move to be by her side, in front of her. 

“You don’t sound so sure of yourself, Asu.” Klein finally stood in front of her, running his fingers through his pink unruly hair. He let go and studied her, looking her up and down almost as if she were a piece of meat. Asuna felt incredibly uncomfortable, looking to the slide and going red on her cheeks. 

She felt frozen in time and place, unable to move as her ankles felt shackled to the floor. She could only desperately gaze up at him as he placed his hand on her cheek, stroking it with the pad of his thumb. It was an unwanted touch, perhaps that’s why it felt so dirty and wrong. Her eyes bubbled with tears yet he persisted, and that sickened her more. Why was she unable to do anything, unable to fight him? Every time he touched her, got closer and drank in her sight and smells, every bit of respect she had for him disappeared into thin air inside her head, as she continued to let him violate everything they had built together between them. 

Klein grabbed her hand softly at first, holding her wrist gently so she really had nowhere to go. He leaned in and she could hear him smelling her, making her stomach roll uncomfortably. “You know I’ve always had a thing for you, don’t you Asuna?” He purred into her ear, his face intentionally close to hers. “You feel the same, isn’t that right?”

Asuna gulped, preparing her answer. She was no liar, and this time would be no different. She knew she only had feelings for one person. 

“I don’t,” She replied, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. She felt the grip on her wrist tighten at her honest response. She decided she would take no more of this abuse, and made the sudden movement of snapping her arm away and clutching it to her chest, backing up to the window and the wall, hands fretting and patting as if she could just push the wall down behind her and run as fast as she could. 

Her heart pounded in her chest. She felt the sweat building on her, yet her eyes never left him not even to blink as he took one step closer to her. “Stay away from me!” She demanded in a heavy voice, almost stuttering her words. Asuna knew that if it came to it, she would have to fight just to get away from him.

Preparing to do so, she took a deep breath and furrowed her brows, clutching the wall behind her. Even if she was scared, she wasn’t going to let up to this creep without a fight. A part of it saddened her, knowing that the friendly guy at work she had always known was just a fake persona he had hidden behind. If this was what it took to get him riled up, for his true colours to burst and fizzle in front of her like a failed firework then so be it. 

A surge of warmth connected with her previously tainted hand, a burst of confidence that relit the fire within her. Her determination surged once more, as she peeled her eyes across to see who was the one now holding her hand. 

Standing there was Kazuto. Her unfaithful friend, the one whom she’d cursed for only a short while before realising she missed him more than anything else in the world. Asuna found herself never being as happy as she was when she was with him, never felt the same amount of butterflies or embarrassment whenever he was around her. He gave her a goofy smile, his eyes flashing her a smile of their own through his black locks as he lightly gripped her hand. This was the type of grip she wanted, and tightened her own fingers with him, noting that she didn’t want to ever let go. 

After sharing a brief reunion, they both glared back at Klein, who glared equally as harsh back at them. He grit his teeth on the sight of Kazuto. Asuna and Klein had been so deep in the moment that they hadn’t even heard the entrance bell, he hadn’t heard Kazuto come to take her away from him once again. 

“You heard her,” Kazuto reminded him, dragging Asuna by the hand and placing her behind him, out of harm's way. He was no Black swordsman in reality but he’d do his best to make sure she didn’t get hurt any further. “Stay away from her.” 

The words felt so noble and brave coming from his mouth, and even though she could hold her own battle against him and most likely get away, she could finally breathe in reassurance knowing that not just anyone, but he was here to save her. Asuna started to wonder if it was okay to start getting saved sometimes. She clutched his hand tighter, pulling on it slightly as a signal to  _ let’s just get out of here.  _

Kazuto squeezed back for comfort, not taking his eyes off Klein. He needed to be watching his counter’s every move. 

“You,” Klein gritted. His eyes shifted behind Kazuto to desperately look at Asuna’s. “You choose this scrawny runt over me? What’s he got that I don’t, huh? Is it because he’s the Black-”

“Klein.” She said firmly, though the pressure and sweat from her palm told Kazuto all that he needed to know. “Just stop. This has gone too far now.”

He laughed a little too loudly, worrying them both slightly. Klein crossed his arms triumphantly. “You wait until Daika gets here. He’ll show you guys a storm-”

Asuna furrowed her brows at the floor in disbelief. “Daika…?” She murmured out. He would be here, in real life with them? Kazuto turned with this new information, and dragged Asuna out of the sliding doors, letting the bell chime them out. As Kazuto tugged her gently, she looked back to see Klein’s grinning face. 

“You’ve met him before, Asu.” He called out. 

They both ran, out into the inky blackness of the night, panting and footsteps loud. Asuna watched her hair flow behind her in waves as the store doors slid shut, Klein still standing there until he was out of view when they turned the corner. She moved her head to watch him, slightly taller than her, running fast and his hair bouncing with each stride.

The duo had never been this far out together in reality before, and it was a new experience for her. This was the first time she’d been anywhere with a guy really, and she was running for what felt like her life. She thought about her job as they continued to pace quickly through the backstreets, weaving in and out of alleyways and shadows dancing to accompany them on their journey. Asuna was sure that when she explained everything, he would understand why she ditched her shift. Besides, it would have all been caught on CCTV, a crucial blunder Klein had seemed to have forgotten. 

She thought about his last words, how he told her that she had already met Daika. She rarely spoke to people in the real world and didn’t really meet many new faces. She recalled the past few days, few weeks and events that had happened to her until-

The hooded man that came to her when working one night. It was him. 


End file.
